Now that members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) have voted to approve a sweeping, if not radical, proposal giving the five largest athletic conferences "autonomy" to establish new governance rules regarding a compensation pay package for the recruitment of athletes, some important public policy concerns need to be addressed. In this time of scarce resources for many institutions, the proposal presents a real threat to the ability to provide educational opportunities not only for student-athletes, but for other students as well. Funds and support that should be directed to the academic success of students may, under this approval, be directed to athletes well beyond the necessary support of full tuition and fees and the cost of attendance. This wealth transfer may lead to an increase in the cost of attendance for all students as institutional funds are redirected to support monetary awards for athletes. Further, the NCAA plan is arguably a serious antitrust violation issue. The larger conferences have the financial ability to financially overpower schools with less sports revenues. Simply put, the large sports revenue-driven institutions will have a monopoly-like power and ability to dominate the recruitment market, resulting in a suppression of competition. In short, the more the nonacademic-based compensation is awarded to the athlete, the more it removes the NCAA's defense of "amateurism" and the important principle of the student athlete. As college sports are transformed completely by the new NCAA "autonomy" rules, by further commercialization and professionalization, and by unintended consequences not yet known, the amateur college athlete and the nonrevenue sports teams may well end up on the losing side of the field of competition.