NCAA files revised revenue-sharing settlement addressing judge's objection on roster limits
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How coaches salaries and the NIL bill affects college football
Dan Wolken breaks down the annual college football coaches compensation package to discuss salaries and how the NIL bill affects them.
Sports Pulse
Lawyers for the NCAA and for the athletes involved in the proposed settlement of three athlete-compensation antitrust cases against the NCAA and Power Five conferences made filings with a federal judge on Wednesday, May 7 that they said address the one concern she had said was preventing her from granting final approval to the deal.
The issue involves around roster limits that had been set to go into effect immediately as part of the agreement. On April 23, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken said that the immediate implementation of roster limits made the proposed settlement 'not fair' because thousands of athletes who are supposed to be benefiting from the deal stood to lose their places on teams after the current school year.
Wilken gave the sides two weeks to address her concerns, and in a new filing, the plaintiffs' lawyers wrote that they and the NCAA have agreed to arrangement under which: 'any athlete who would have lost their roster spot (or a promised roster spot) for the 2025-2026 academic year due to the immediate implementation of roster limits will be exempt from any roster limits at any Division I institution, for the duration of their college athletics careers.'
However, Laura Reathaford, a lawyer for one objector, told USA TODAY Sports she will be filing a separate brief – an indication that objectors will be continuing to try to make their case with Wilken.
In her order two weeks ago, Wilken asked that Reathaford and two other lawyers for objectors be included in discussions about revisions to the roster limits that also were included a mediator and lawyers for the plaintiffs, the NCAA and the Power Five conferences that also are defendants in the case.
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David Mullins, CEO of the ITA, says college tennis is a great pathway to the pros. 'Our position within the tennis industry has never been better,' Mullins said. 'But on the other side, we're dealing with all these things happening with the NCAA model. Probably the challenges that we're facing from the collegiate side domestically have never been greater.' Louisiana-Monroe athletic director John Hartwell noted schools opting into the settlement must sponsor at least 16 sports. Louisiana-Monroe had 17 sports before eliminating women's tennis. 'Probably a factor for some folks is the squad size, that probably has something to do with it,' Hartwell said. 'Facilities are a challenge, too. I think those are probably key components. But I also think a lot of these schools that have more than required 16 sports are analyzing everything cost-wise.' Cutting tennis saved Louisiana-Monroe about $250,000. 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'Their faces were like they didn't know how to react,' Aldaz said. 'They were lost... sad and angry.' Aldaz is now at Mercer. Friedler, who is from Israel, played for Tulane this past season. Many of their former teammates at their original schools weren't as fortunate. Many college tennis programs don't have facilities on campus, forcing them to rent local courts. Whiting said Central Arkansas had a facility on campus that required an estimated $1.5 million to $2 million in repairs. Hartwell said Louisiana-Monroe's tennis facility needed about $750,000 in improvements. Mullins said the U.S. Tennis Association has offered grants to colleges opening full-service tennis centers to foster the sport's growth in their communities. Those schools then can make money by renting out their courts when their teams aren't using them. South Carolina is the latest school to attempt this, hiring Dainyell Fox as the Carolina Tennis Center's operations manager within the past year. 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