As the landmark House v. NCAA settlement sits in legal limbo awaiting a federal judge’s final approval, NCAA leaders are forging ahead with plans to remake the world of college sports.
On Monday, the NCAA’s Division I board of directors finalized rule changes that will take effect if the settlement is granted.
Among other moves, they conditionally approved the elimination of more than 150 rules, according to an NCAA press release.
If enacted, the changes will operationalize what’s laid out in the settlement, including by creating a tech-driven tool that will enable closer tracking of NIL deals.
House v. NCAA settlement
The House settlement was preliminarily approved by a federal judge in October, and the same judge is expected to grant final approval any day, despite some unresolved tension over issues like roster limits.
If approved, the settlement would resolve several lawsuits related to financial compensation for athletes, as well as address some of the challenges that have emerged since name, image and likeness, or NIL, deals entered the college sports landscape in 2021.
The settlement would:
- Enable schools to share revenue with student-athletes. There would be a cap on how much money could be shared — it’s set to be $20.5 million for the 2025-26 school year. The money would come from media rights deals, ticket sales and sponsorships, as the Deseret News has reported.
- Create a clearinghouse for NIL deals. The clearinghouse would be responsible for determining if big-money deals match an athlete’s fair market value. Observers expect assessors to work to reduce the role of booster-funded collectives in college sports.
- End scholarship limits but create roster limits. Under the settlement, schools would be free to offer full or partial scholarships to all athletes, but they wouldn’t be able to stockpile extra backup options.
The House v. NCAA settlement will take effect on July 1 if it’s approved by then.
New NCAA rules
On Monday, the Division I board of directors approved previously discussed proposals that cover the same territory as the settlement.
For example, they conditionally eliminated the rules that would stand in the way of revenue sharing with student-athletes.
Board members did not address the issue of eligibility, which is also a key source of conflict in college sports at the moment.
“NCAA members will not discuss whether or not players will receive five years of eligibility moving forward via legislation until after a final decision on the House Settlement has been made, per an NCAA official,” said college basketball insider Jon Rothstein in a Monday post on X.