As a university president and former vice chair of Division I athletics at the N.C.A.A., I have witnessed how this inequity has mushroomed, and it is clear to me that nothing less than a fundamental reordering is required: The football programs in the four major conferences should withdraw from the N.C.A.A. entirely and create a stand-alone association. That would allow these programs to reap the benefits of their popularity while not setting the course for the rest of the member schools, like a tanker pulling a line of rowboats.