Scholars have noted each of the following elements that explain the importance of conferences EXCEPT: a. The conference is the crucial unit in shaping and regulating intercollegiate athletics because it can have more impact on shaping athletic policies than the NCAA does.
b. Conferences demand that schools and their leaders pay more attention to conference issues than to those of national governing bodies like the NCAA.
c. The conference is the locus where a small group of institutions in voluntary association agree to work together, to compete while showing some sign of mutual respect and comparable academic standards.
d. Conferences allow schools with similar concerns to form leagues with rules that operationalize their common philosophy and put their athletes and coaches in social circumstances where they will be dealing with people and similar expectations and constraints.