The leaders of big-time college sports agree that transfer rules need to better accommodate players.

The days of coaches having a say in where an athlete can transfer could very well be going away, though it’s not likely deregulation will lead to a system in which athletes come and go as they please.

How that change happens is up for debate.

The wealthiest college football conferences (Big 12, Big Ten, Atlantic Conference, Pac-12, Southeastern Conference) are willing to work with all of Division I to come up with a solution, but they also want the power to make their own transfer rules if need be as part of an autonomy structure the NCAA is moving toward.

That worries the schools outside those powerful leagues, concerned they’ll be in danger of losing their best players to the Big Five.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — NCAA President Mark Emmert will take the stand to defend his organization in a landmark antitrust case that could one day lead to players getting paid a portion of the billions of dollars in television money flowing into big-time college athletics.

Emmert is scheduled to testify Thursday in a much anticipated appearance as the NCAA tries to convince a federal judge that its system of so-called “amateurism” is not anti-competitive and is the best model for regulating college sports.

Plaintiffs led by former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon are seeking an injunction that would allow players to band together and sell the rights to their names and likenesses in broadcasts. They envision a system in which players can get money when they leave college for their play.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The battle to give top football and basketball players a cut of the billions of dollars flowing into college athletics began in earnest Monday with former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon taking the stand in federal court to describe how he spent long hours working on his game and as few as possible on his grades.

The lead plaintiff in a landmark antitrust suit against the NCAA said his goal at UCLA wasn’t to get a degree, but to get two years of college experience before being drafted into the NBA.

O’Bannon portrayed himself as a dedicated athlete who would stay after games to work on his shot if he played poorly.

The testimony came as a trial that could upend the way college sports are regulated opened, five years after the suit was filed.

Plaintiffs in the upcoming NCAA antitrust trial will not be able to introduce as evidence the recent decision that allowed Northwestern football players to vote on whether they wanted to join a union.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ruled Friday that lawyers for former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon and 19 others may cite the decision by a regional director of the National Labor Relations Board allowing the vote in their trial brief, but may not introduce the findings as evidence once the trial begins.

The decision was part of a series of rulings covering outstanding motions in the case. As part of the filing, Wilken again ordered the trial that could reshape major college sports to begin June 9 in federal court in Oakland, California.

DESTIN, Fla. (AP) — SEC Commissioner Mike Slive says the NCAA’s rules regarding contact between athletes and agents don’t allow for players to make the best judgments about when to leave school early.

Slive hopes rules regarding agents will be one of the many areas the five major college football conferences will be able to reform when and if the NCAA agrees to change its governance structure to allow those leagues to pass legislation without the approval of other conferences.

Speaking to reporters after the first day of the Southeastern Conference spring meetings, Slive said the “NCAA’s current rules are really part of the problem not part of the solution.”

Currently, an athlete cannot reach a verbal or written agreement with an agent and remain eligible.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A U.S. Senate committee wants the NCAA to start providing college athletes with greater protections from “exploitative practices” on campuses.

In a letter addressed to NCAA President Mark Emmert and obtained by The Associated Press on Monday, the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation asked the NCAA to send information describing what protections are already in place. The letter, signed by three Democrats, insisted more needs to be done for athletes.

The senators wrote that if the NCAA was accomplishing its mission by protecting college athletes, there would be no need for a players’ union. In February, a National Labor Relations Board regional office ruled that Northwestern’s football players could unionize. A vote was held in April, but the decision has been appealed.