Oakland, California (CNN) -- If college athletes were to start being paid, many schools would leave Division I sports, NCAA President Mark Emmert said Thursday. And the universities that stayed in Division I sports would have to start cutting other, less popular sports to be able to afford the salaries. There would be less competition and no more national championship games — at least not in their current form, Emmert said. Emmert testified at the landmark federal trial for former UCLA player Ed O'Bannon's lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He and other athletes are suing for the opportunity for future athletes to be paid for the use of their names, images and likenesses when they play sports on television.
@highlight
NCAA President Mark Emmert said paying athletes would hurt traditions
@highlight
National championships, camaraderie as we know them would end, he testified
@highlight
"People come to watch ... because it's college sports," he said in federal court
@highlight
Ex-UCLA player Ed O'Bannon sued to allow athletes to be paid for images, likenesses
Many schools lose money on @placeholder athletics but keep them for the "social cohesion" and the boost to their profiles, Emmert said.