With the settlement in the NCAA v. House case inching closer to final approval, the power conferences have established a new legal entity to oversee the revamped athlete compensation rules in Division I.
According to Sportico, College Sports Commission LLC was registered as a limited liability company with the Delaware Secretary of State on Monday. Following final approval of the House settlement, it is expected to be the central body governing the new regulatory framework in the NCAA.
In February, Yahoo Sports reported that the power conferences would be establishing an LLC that was meant to serve as the “enforcement arm to police violators of the industry’s new salary cap and is expected to feature revenue-sharing policies and a corresponding penalty structure for violators.”
Sources confirmed to Sportico that College Sports Commission LLC is indeed that entity, with an official announcement expected within the next week.
The one-page LLC registration filed Monday did not provide additional details about the commission beyond its name.
In the near future, College Sports Commission LLC is expected to announce the hiring of a chief executive and, per Yahoo Sports, is also looking to hire a lead investigator who would be the arbiter of which athlete NIL deals over $600 align with the new guidelines imposed by the House settlement.
Deloitte, the accounting firm, has been retained by the power conferences to audit and manage the clearinghouse of NIL deals, while the tech company LBi Software has been hired to create a cap-management and reporting platform to track the money schools pay directly to their athletes, according to Sportico.
In terms of where the House v. NCAA settlement stands following the final approval hearing last week, plaintiffs and the NCAA filed a joint report on Monday addressing Judge Claudia Wilken‘s concerns from the hearing, though the parties will not be phasing in roster limits.
Sportico reported that attorneys “effectively doubled down on their prior position, arguing that implementing roster limits as part of the overall settlement compromise is both ‘fair and reasonable.’ They emphasize the lack of precedent where courts have blocked organized team sports from using ‘some form of roster limits,’ asserting that such limits are standard and appropriate within the sports context.”
They also argued that phasing in roster limits would “upset the settled expectations, enrollment decisions, and other preparations” made by numerous student-athletes and member institutions in preparation for the settlement to be approved.
Power conferences establishing the new LLC is an example of how the college sports industry is moving forward as if Judge Wilken will approve the settlement in short order and the new rules will be put in place for the 2025-26 academic year. However, Wilken is able to take as long as she deems necessary to evaluate the settlement terms, so nothing is set in stone.
I still don’t understand the SEC men’s swim/dive roster limit of 22. Unless you’re one of the top 4-5, I think any recruit would be crazy to choose that over a team with a roster of 30. My kid is finishing up his freshman year on an SEC team and has made the cut. He committed his junior year of hs before we really knew what was going on, but I feel like the choice may have been different if we had known what we know now.
Totally agree…decisions for many would have been very different.
And it really sheds a new light on what recruiting weekends look like. I don’t see how swimmers should be expected to host recruits who potentially would take their spot. The whole thing creates a “take care of me” mentality and takes away the loyalty to the “team”. There’ll be no more diamond in the rough and no more development of the student/athlete over a period of time. In my opinion everything good about college sports is ruined by this settlement, and I’m not at all surprised that at the root of it all is money.
I can see a split team dynamic everywhere, even if unspoken. The elite swimmers will proceed as normal and have fun, while the bubble types are tense and worrying about their slotting all year.
Forget about hosting the top recruits. This will now cause many underclassmen to hope their school isn’t even in contention for swimmers/divers who can take their spot away.
I have a boy starting at a P4 in the fall. I feel good about his choice (as good as a Mom who worries all the time about ALL OF IT). But if Texas or another top SEC had come knocking, and he’d been on the bubble, I feel certain my Son would have bet on himself and been willing to gamble that he’d be able to make and stay on the team. I’m glad they didn’t, and I’m glad he is headed where he is headed. But I think to be a top athlete, you’ve got to believe in yourself, and I bet a lot of kids would take the risk.
Also, if the top SEC teams are… Read more »
You make some good points here. My kid bet on himself and ended up making it. I just worry about him getting far in his major and then getting injured and cut from the team. He’s actually at his school to get an education and his major is a difficult one. If he gets cut then the choice is to basically quit swimming or attempt to transfer. Most schools have a transfer credit limit.
Shocking, attorneys didn’t care about what the judge thought and just doubled down. I guess everyone has their own opinion on what is “fair and reasonable”. Plus the institutions have the ability to grandfather in anyone already there but just choosing not to.
The attorneys represent the wishes of their clients. The NCAA attorney has been adamant that taking roster limits out of the settlement was a dealbreaker. Don’t let University Presidents and ADs off the hook for not moving on this issue.
Anyone that thinks Roster limit implementation is “fair and reasonable” has no idea what this is doing to 1000’s of kids across sports and their families. Swimmers are resilient and will work their way through this, but this ruling is one of the most disruptive moves in college sports history.
It’s getting real…