Power conference commissioners voice confidence in House settlement: ‘Our schools want rules’

The leaders of college sports’ most powerful conferences voiced their confidence in the recently approved House settlement Monday, shepherding in a new era of college athletics in which schools can begin directly paying college athletes on July 1.

“The decision (to approve the settlement) on Friday is a significant step forward toward building long-term stability for college sports while protecting the system from bad actors seeking to exploit confusion and uncertainty,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said.

The newly formed College Sports Commission (CSC) held a news conference Monday morning featuring commissioners of the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC. Established in the wake of Friday’s approval of the House settlement, the CSC will oversee the implementation and enforcement of settlement terms, shifting much of the responsibility away from the NCAA. Bryan Seeley, the former head of investigations for Major League Baseball, has been announced as CEO and will report to a board comprised of the power conference commissioners.

Those commissioners addressed a settlement that intends to reshape the college sports industry and install guardrails on name, image and likeness (NIL) payments that have become unregulated and sparked repeated legal challenges in recent years.

“Ultimately, it is incumbent upon everyone involved in college sports … to make the terms of this settlement work. We must be committed and embrace both the realities and opportunities ahead,” said Sankey, who acknowledged that there will be “challenges and growing pains.”

“While this settlement does not solve every issue, it establishes a solid foundation for stability and a sustainable future,” Sankey said.

The CSC has been tasked with oversight of the settlement’s new revenue-sharing pool, which will be capped at roughly $20.5 million per school in the first year, as well as third-party NIL deals via the new NIL Go clearinghouse. NIL Go, which will evaluate any third-party NIL payments worth at least $600, is expected to be up and running this week and will determine whether those deals represent a valid business purpose and fall within an approved range of compensation. Those that don’t fit the criteria will be flagged and forced to be adjusted or taken to arbitration. The aim is to stamp out the unchecked “pay-for-play” deals popularized by NIL collectives.

The power conference commissioners did not offer specifics Monday on what the enforcement and penalties might look like under the CSC, but ACC commissioner Jim Phillips stated that Seeley will have a lot of input on those areas moving forward.

Even prior to Friday’s approval, there has been no shortage of questions or doubts from those inside and outside college sports about the viability of the settlement terms and the CSC’s ability to enforce these new rules.

“It all sounds great in theory, but how will it actually work?” one power conference athletic director recently posited to The Athletic.

The commissioners made clear in no uncertain terms Monday that they expect strict adherence and buy-in from their member schools.

“It’s progress over perfection,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said. “Our schools want rules and we’re providing rules and we will be governed by those rules. And if you break those rules, the ramifications will be punitive.”

Part of that process includes “participation agreements” in which the schools agree to comply with the terms of the settlement and not seek legal action, regardless of any differences and discrepancies with state laws. Yormark, who said that the agreement “codifies the rules of settlement,” described it as a “work in progress” within the Big 12 but one that has received no pushback and that he plans to execute in short order. Sankey stated at the SEC spring meetings last month that all 16 conference members approved of the agreement.

“We want oversight, we want guardrails, we want structure. (Administrators and coaches) don’t have the luxury to just say that in meeting rooms. They don’t have the luxury to just be anonymous sources,” Sankey said. “They have a responsibility to make what they’ve sought, what they’ve asked for, to make it work.”

Buy-in from schools and conferences won’t necessarily prevent continued legal battles from outside parties — part of the potential challenges that were referenced. There could be future lawsuits or complaints on the basis of Title IX or antitrust violations. (The commissioners did state that decisions on how the revenue sharing pool will be distributed will be made on a school-by-school basis.)

To that end, the NCAA and power conferences, as part of the College Sports Commission, will continue to lobby Congress for things like antitrust exemptions and federal legislation that preempts state laws and addresses athlete employment status. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said he hopes the settlement will provide a foundation that encourages Congress to take action, and Sankey acknowledged that he and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua played golf with President Donald Trump on Sunday to discuss some of these same issues.

There is no timetable for if or when Congress will take action, but lobbying efforts will continue in Washington, D.C.“I don’t know if there is an exact timeline, but there is a sense of urgency, for sure,” said Yormark.

“I don’t think we have to sell them on the topic, we just have to land in the right place that works for both parties on the Hill, and I think we’re getting closer.”

(Photo: Ian Maule / Getty Images)