The College Sports Commission is hiring a federal prosecutor and former Associate Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice to lead investigations for the new enforcement organization created by the power conferences.
The CSC announced Wednesday that Katie Medearis, previously the Criminal Division Chief at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Virginia, will take over as its Head of Investigations and Deputy General Counsel starting Nov. 10.
Medearis will oversee compliance and enforcement of college sports’ newly implemented revenue-sharing system and rules related to name, image and likeness compensation for athletes.
“Katie’s broad range of investigative experience and her track record of hiring and developing talent make her an outstanding addition to our team,” CSC chief executive officer Bryan Seeley said. “Her proven ability to tackle complex challenges will be instrumental as we work to build a fair and accountable future for college sports, underpinned by robust and consistent enforcement.”
The CSC began operations shortly after a federal judge approved in late June the $2.8 billion settlement of the House v. NCAA lawsuit. Seeley, the former head of investigations at Major League Baseball, was hired by the conferences to lead the fledgling governing body.
As part of the settlement, conferences agreed to allow schools to directly pay college athletes for the first time. The agreement also created policies to regulate NIL deals between athletes and third parties.
The new system went into effect July 1, and the CSC has been playing catch-up ever since as Seeley builds out a staff and works with the conferences and House plaintiffs’ attorneys on the implementation of terms of the settlement.
The CSC is essentially taking over the role of the NCAA when it comes to policing improper payments to college athletes.
Medearis has served in high-ranking roles with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Virginia and California, directing hundreds of investigations of complex criminal conspiracies such as financial fraud, dark-web narcotics trafficking, cyberstalking and counterintelligence.
As an Associate Deputy Attorney General at the DOJ, she oversaw enforcement cases of the FBI, DEA, ATF and U.S. Marshals Service.
“College sports are undergoing historic change, and effective oversight is essential to safeguard the new opportunities created by the House settlement,” Medearis said in a statement. “I am honored to join the College Sports Commission at this turning point, and am confident we can deliver the integrity, fairness and transparency that student-athletes, institutions and fans expect.”
Medearis is a graduate of William & Mary law school, with two bachelor’s degrees from UC Davis.
The revenue-sharing system she will be charged with enforcing at the CSC comes with a standardized cap for schools that choose to participate. This year, that is about $20.5 million. Schools can choose to distribute that money to their athletes however they want, but most are directing the vast majority to the revenue-generating sports of football and basketball.
College athletes are also now required to submit NIL deals valued at $600 or more to an online platform called NIL Go for approval by CSC staff. According to CSC policy, deals must have a valid business purpose and be within a reasonable range of market value.
While thousands of deals have been approved, the volume has led to a backlog. NIL collectives, donor and sponsor-funded organizations that support individual schools, have voiced concerns about the delays and complained that the inefficiency is keeping millions of dollars from athletes across the country.
