The NCAA has released a Question & Answer document detailing the impact of the proposed settlements in the House case, along with the separate Hubbard and Carter cases.
Although the document doesn’t necessarily provide much new information on how the proposed settlements will impact Division I institutions and student-athletes, it does give us some clarity on some different aspects of it.
Important notes coming from the document include that schools do not need to opt in to the settlement terms, any school that provides a payment to one student-athlete is subject to the terms of the settlement, conferences can set guidelines for its members, and schools can’t opt-in on a team-by-team basis.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Under the proposed settlement, each Division I institution does not have to agree to the terms—schools can simply opt out and not take part. Each school is able to decide whether and how much of any benefit it provides to its student-athletes, up to the “Pool” limitations.
- Each D1 conference can set rules or guidelines for its members on the provisions of the benefits to student-athletes, provided those are done independently and not in agreement with another conference.
- Once a school pays one student-athlete, they are subject to the settlement terms.
- Institutions can not opt into the settlement on a team-by-team basis. This means that if a school opts into the agreement, the terms apply to all athletics programs at the school.
- All student-athletes, even those at schools that opt out of the revenue-sharing agreement, will need to report their name, image and likeness (NIL) deals that are $600 or more, either to their school or the designated reporting entity.
- All D1 scholarships will be equivalency awards and schools can provide any portion of a scholarship to student-athletes (full scholarships not required in any sport).
- The D1 Council will adopt legislation that establishes roster limits for each sport consistent with those reported to the Court as part of the settlement.
NEXT STEPS IN SETTLEMENT
- October 18, 2024 marked the opening date that student-athletes could begin filing claims for back pay, the “Notice Date.”
- December 17, 2024 (60 days after Notice Date) – Allocation Estimate Available
- December 17, 2024 (60 days after Notice Date) – Motion for Attorney’s Fees, Reimbursement of Litigation Expenses, and Service Awards
- January 31, 2025 (105 days after Notice Date) – Exclusion and Objection Deadline
- January 31, 2025 (105 days after Notice Date) – Claims Period Closes
- March 3, 2025 (135 days after Notice Date) – Motion for Final Approval and Response to Objections
- April 7, 2025 (10 a.m., to be held remotely and in person) – Final Approval Hearing
The full Q&A document was posted on X by Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger.
The NCAA distributed to its members today the long-awaited Q&A related to the proposed House settlement. Here it is: pic.twitter.com/qFKUNl9m3R
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 28, 2024
The NCAA and Power Conferences agreed to the 10-year settlement in May, which will pay athletes $2.7 billion in back-pay damages. The revenue-sharing agreement will allow schools to share $20-23 million annually in revenue to athletes.
The case was originally filed in 2020 with former Arizona State swimmer Grant House serving as the lead plaintiff.
The case was granted preliminary approval earlier this month.
This petition was posted on a parents of college athletes facebook page regarding roster limits.
https://www.change.org/p/protect-ncaa-athletes-from-house-vs-ncaa-setup-phased-rollout-grandfather-clause
It seems like you’re either revenue sharing at the full $22 million number or you’re not doing it at all? I thought schools that didn’t opt into the full agreement might still be able to share some amount of money with their athletes but this doesn’t seem to be the case and I guess was just a misunderstanding on my part.
At mid-major programs with big-time football or basketball that seems like a guarantee for major blood letting. The only thing that will protect some sports are minimum sponsorship requirements for D1 schools.
“D1 Council will adopt legislation that establishes roster limits for each sport consistent with those reported to the Court as part of the settlement.”
Who’s on this council and how much input will each conference have? How “consistent” does a conference have to be with the settlement figures to align to this new legislation?
It will be interesting to see which elite athletic schools outside the P4 opt-out. What is a school like Butler, that has elite men’s basketball but not many other nationally competitive teams, going to do?
I’m guessing that Ivy League schools will opt-out. What will that do to their burgeoning basketball success?
Of course Butler will opt in, they have basketball to think about.
I think the Ivy League will opt out.
Ivy League schools have never offered scholarships in any sport, and my initial thought was that they wouldn’t be at any more of a disadvantage (in terms of recruiting) opting out of this than they were before.
But your comment got me thinking. Maybe there’s some kid who is an excellent basketball player, who was offered a scholarship at UConn (or another basketball powerhouse), but decided to go to Harvard for the academics (and maybe he also got some need-based financial aid to offset tuition). Perhaps under the new rules UConn offers him so much money (on top of the scholarship) that it flips his decision? It seems plausible. On the other… Read more »