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Associated Press
2 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Football season looms with no clear guidance in athlete battles to win more eligibility from NCAA
The stream of lawsuits across the country from college athletes trying to grab another season of eligibility appears ready to fizzle out for a bit. With fall football practice cranking up this week, players still hoping for a judge allowing them to take the field may be left waiting for a ruling that likely won't help them compete again. 'We're at a point in the summer where I think any athlete out there is going to know that it's probably too late to file a case and be able to get relief on it,' said Sam Ehrlich, a professor of legal studies at Boise State studying the 2021 Alston ruling's affect on college athletics. Relief on a larger question surrounding eligibility may be a while coming, too: In cases from California to Wisconsin, judges have provided inconsistent results for players seeking legal help for another season and it may very well be a topic settled for good by a higher court. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia is perhaps the highest-profile athlete to win his court fight. The New Mexico State transfer sued the NCAA last fall, arguing that his junior college years should not count against his eligibility, citing the potential losses in earnings from name, image and likeness deals. U.S. District Judge William Campbell Jr. in Tennessee granted a preliminary injunction, ordering the NCAA to allow Pavia to play. The NCAA is appealing Campbell's decision but granted a blanket waiver that will allow Pavia and other athletes who played at non-NCAA Division I schools prior to enrollment an extra year of eligibility if they were going to exhaust their eligibility this year. Pavia won. Others, such as Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean, have lost or are in limbo. Practice starts Wednesday for Southeastern Conference members Vanderbilt and Tennessee. Chris Bellamy and Targhee Lambson are among four football players waiting on the same federal judge who gave Pavia another season of football last December. Some schools have helped by filing waivers. Others wait and hold a spot, letting the athlete fight the legal battle. 'They're just kind of in limbo in the transfer portal because schools don't really know whether they're going to have eligibility,' Ehrlich said. 'It's a really weird situation right now.' The NCAA would like Congress to grant limited liability protection to help address all the lawsuits over eligibility. NCAA President Charlie Baker noted in June that athletes had five years to play four seasons for about a century, a situation that changed recently. Baker told The Associated Press then that the NCAA has won more of these cases than the association lost. 'But the uncertainty it creates, the consequences of this for the next generation of young people if you play this thing out, are enormous,' Baker said. 'Moving away from an academic calendar to sort of no calendar for college sports is hugely problematic.' Duke coach Manny Diaz thought such eligibility issues would be addressed after the House settlement, which took effect July 1. 'All I have been told is once they got House out of the way they are going to be double back on a lot of these oddities and make sure eligibility is tied into a college career,' Diaz said at ACC media days. 'We don't want nine-year guys playing the sport.' Thanks to the extra season added to careers for the coronavirus pandemic, the college eligibility calendar has been scrambled a bit. Pavia will be playing his sixth season after starting with two at New Mexico Military Institute, a junior college, then two more at New Mexico State. Fullback Hayden Large played three NAIA seasons at Dordt before transferring to Iowa, where he will be playing his sixth season this fall after being granted another year. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz sees a simple solution in giving players five years to play five seasons. He's also in favor of players who start in junior college having an extra year, even as he sees the need for a limit even if he doesn't know what that should be. 'If a guy during his first year ends up being able to play five or six games, why not let him play?' Ferentz said. 'It's all about creating opportunity, in my mind. I've never understood the rationale for not doing that.' Ehrlich is attempting to track all lawsuits against the NCAA, ranging from the House settlement;name, image and likeness litigation; college athletes as employees; and Title IX lawsuits, along with other cases. Ehrlich has tracked more than a dozen lawsuits involving eligibility and common factors are hard to come by. He saw three very different rulings from judges appointed by President Donald Trump. Standards of evidence for a preliminary injunction also have varied from judge to judge. Three cases have been appealed with other motions helping delay some waiver requests. Ehrlich said there remains the chance a case lands before the U.S. Supreme Court. 'I don't see these cases drying up anytime soon,' Ehrlich said. ___ AP National Writer Eddie Pells and AP Sports Writer Steve Reed contributed to this report. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Football season looms with no clear guidance in athlete battles to win more eligibility from NCAA
The stream of lawsuits across the country from college athletes trying to grab another season of eligibility appears ready to fizzle out for a bit. With fall football practice cranking up this week, players still hoping for a judge allowing them to take the field may be left waiting for a ruling that likely won't help them compete again.
Fast Company
4 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
What to know about Trump's executive order on college sports
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order mandating that federal authorities clarify whether college athletes can be considered employees of the schools they play for in an attempt to create clearer national standards in the NCAA's name, image and likeness era. Trump directed the secretary of labor and the National Labor Relations Board to clarify the status of collegiate athletes through guidance or rules 'that will maximize the educational benefits and opportunities provided by higher education institutions through athletics.' The order does not provide or suggest specifics on the controversial topic of college athlete employment. The move comes after months of speculation about whether Trump will establish a college sports commission to tackle some of the thorny issues facing what is now a multibillion-dollar industry. He instead issued an order intended to add some controls to 'an out-of-control, rudderless system in which competing university donors engage in bidding wars for the best players, who can change teams each season.' 'Absent guardrails to stop the madness and ensure a reasonable, balanced use of resources across collegiate athletic programs that preserves their educational and developmental benefits, many college sports will soon cease to exist,' Trump's order says. 'It is common sense that college sports are not, and should not be, professional sports, and my administration will take action accordingly.' There has been a dramatic increase in money flowing into and around college athletics and a sense of chaos. Key court victories won by athletes angry that they were barred for decades from earning income based on their celebrity and from sharing in the billions of revenue they helped generate have gutted the amateurism model long at the heart of college sports. Facing a growing number of state laws undercutting its authority, the NCAA in July 2021 cleared the way for athletes to cash in with NIL deals with brands and sponsors — deals now worth millions. That came mere days after a 9-0 decision from the Supreme Court that found the NCAA cannot impose caps on education-related benefits schools provide to their athletes because such limits violate antitrust law. The NCAA's embrace of NIL deals set the stage for another massive change that took effect July 1: The ability of schools to begin paying millions of dollars to their own athletes, up to $20.5 million per school over the next year. The $2.8 billion House settlement shifts even more power to athletes, who have also won the ability to transfer from school to school without waiting to play. At Big Ten Conference football media days in Las Vegas, Purdue coach Barry Odom was asked about the Trump order. 'We've gotten to the point where government is involved. Obviously, there's belief it needs to be involved,' he said. 'We'll get it all worked out. The game's been around for a hundred years and it's going to be around 100 more.' The NCAA has been lobbying for several years for limited antitrust protection to keep some kind of control over this new landscape — and avoid more crippling lawsuits — but a handful of bills have gone nowhere in Congress. Trump's order makes no mention of that, nor does it refer to any of the current bills in Congress aimed at addressing issues in college sports. NCAA President Charlie Baker and the nation's largest conferences both issued statements saying there is a clear need for federal legislation. 'The association appreciates the Trump administration's focus on the life-changing opportunities college sports provides millions of young people and we look forward to working with student-athletes, a bipartisan coalition in Congress and the Trump administration,' said Baker, while the conferences said it was important to pass a law with national standards for athletes' NIL rights as soon as possible. The 1,100 universities that comprise the NCAA have insisted for decades that athletes are students who cannot be considered anything like a school employee. Still, some coaches have recently suggested collective bargaining as a potential solution to the chaos they see. It is a complicated topic: Universities would become responsible for paying wages, benefits, and workers' compensation and schools and conferences have insisted they will fight any such move in court. While private institutions fall under the National Labor Relations Board, public universities must follow labor laws that vary from state to state and it's worth noting that virtually every state in the South has 'right to work' laws that present challenges for unions. Trump's order also: — Calls for adding or at least preserving athletic scholarships and roster spots for non-revenue sports, which are those outside football and basketball. The House settlement allows for unlimited scholarships but does impose roster limits, leading to a complicated set of decisions for each program at each school that include potential concerns about Title IX equity rules. Trump said 'opportunities for scholarships and collegiate athletic competition in women's and non-revenue sports must be preserved and, where possible, expanded.' — Asks the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to 'preserve college athletics through litigation' and other actions to protect the rights and interests of athletes — a stance that could influence ongoing lawsuits filed by athletes over eligibility and other issues. — Directs White House staff to work with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to protect the collegiate pipeline feeding Team USA. College sports programs produce around three-quarters of U.S. Olympians at a typical Summer Games, but some are on uncertain footing as schools begin sharing revenue with athletes and the lion's share going to football and basketball.
Fox News
4 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Nick Saban praises Trump's executive order cracking down on pay-to-play in college sports
Former Alabama head football coach Nick Saban gave kudos to President Donald Trump for signing an executive order that set new restrictions on payments to college athletes on Thursday. The order prohibits athletes from receiving pay-to-play payments from third-party sources. However, the order does not impose any restrictions on NIL payments to college athletes by third-party sources. "I think President Trump's executive order takes a huge step in providing the educational model, which is what we've always tried to promote to create opportunities for players, male and female, revenue and non-revenue, so they can have development as people, students, and develop careers and develop professionally if that's what they choose to do," Saban told "Fox & Friends" on Friday. "I think we sort of need to make a decision here relative to do we want to have an education-based model, which I think the president made a huge step toward doing that, or do we want to have universities sponsor professional teams? And I think most people would choose the former." The order states that "any revenue-sharing permitted between universities and collegiate athletes should be implemented in a manner that protects women's and non-revenue sports." "The Order requires the preservation and, where possible, expansion of opportunities for scholarships and collegiate athletic competition in women's and non-revenue sports." No clear guidelines for how those sports would be accounted for were provided in the initial announcement. However, Saban seemed confident that college sports are safe. "I think the clearing house is there to authenticate name, image and likeness. In other words, is your marketing value relative to what you're getting paid to do a marketing opportunity? When you cross that line, that's when it becomes pay for play," he said. "So you have collectives that raise money that pay players, and they really don't do a relative marketing job to earn that money, and that's where this whole thing has kind of gotten sideways. I think this whole clearing house is there to sort of protect the collective affecting competitive balance in college sports." "I'm for keeping all the sports that we have as many as we can have, but there are financial concerns relative to how many sports can you promote that don't create revenue," Saban added. "I think one of the things people need to understand about college sports, they say it's a business, but it's really not a business. It's revenue-producing, and two sports have created the revenue to have 20 other sports. And I think that's why it's important we have a system in place. I think President Trump's made the first step…that would protect the opportunities that we've been able to provide male and female non-revenue sports. I think it's everybody's goal to keep all those opportunities intact." Saban and Trump met back in May to discuss the current state of college athletes and NIL deals. Saban retired in 2024, largely due to the new culture.
New York Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
ACC's Jim Phillips says to give NCAA revenue sharing model a chance amid uncertainty
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Schools have only been able to pay players directly for three weeks, and questions have already surfaced about the sustainability of the new system. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips' message Tuesday: Give this model a chance to work. 'Without question, there's still significant work to be done, but we must acknowledge that, collectively, we are truly in a better place and we have a responsibility to make it work in the future,' Phillips said at the start of his league's football kickoff. Advertisement The questions have centered on whether collectives can continue paying players after the House settlement. Guidance from the College Sports Commission — the new enforcement arm that's policing deals — suggested those deals aren't what industry officials consider 'legitimate NIL.' Even if the dispute doesn't trigger more lawsuits, Phillips said Tuesday that the issue could go before a judge for interpretation. In the meantime, Phillips said the goals of transparency and standardized rules are important to pursue as schools share up to $20.5 million directly with players. He said 15,519 players have registered for the clearinghouse, NIL Go, along with almost 2,000 agents. He also acknowledged the fact that schools have traditionally tried to skirt rules, which is why he's emphasizing restraint. 'We can't help ourselves sometimes,' Phillips said. 'People know what the rules are relative to $20.5 (million). They know what legitimate NIL is. You can play in that gray area if you want, but all that does is undermine a new structure. 'We fought hard for the things I just mentioned, and we'd be well-served to just kind of relax and let this thing settle in.' Phillips addressed several other topics Tuesday: • He favors future College Football Playoff formats that guarantee spots for only the top five conference champions. The Big Ten has advocated for a model that tilts toward itself and the SEC with four bids for those leagues and two apiece for the ACC and Big 12. Phillips did not address that idea specifically but stressed the 'importance of coming together to find a solution that is truly best for all of college football.' 'I want to stay committed to access and fairness to all of college football, not only the ACC,' Phillips added later. He said he's open to expansion models that include five conference champions plus either nine or 11 at-large teams. Advertisement • The ACC has discussed moving from eight to nine conference games, like the SEC has considered for years. One league's decision affects the other. Phillips said the ACC prefers eight league games so it can schedule marquee nonconference matchups, like this year's slate (Clemson-LSU, Florida State-Alabama and North Carolina-TCU). The addition of a ninth conference game for either conference would jeopardize in-state, ACC-SEC rivalries like Florida-Florida State or Georgia-Georgia Tech. 'At the end of the day, I like where our league is,' Phillips said. 'But we'll adjust if we have to.' • The conference will mandate player availability reports in football, basketball and baseball. The first football report must be submitted two days before a game, then one day before and on the day of. The ACC has not yet come up with a fine structure if coaches or schools are not forthcoming about injuries. • The ACC will also start fining schools for field/court stormings after games if visiting teams and officials haven't yet left the area: $50,000 for the first offense, $100,000 for the second and $200,000 for the third. Those fines accumulate over two years. Also on Tuesday, ESPN announced that it hired former Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher as an analyst for the ACC Network. Fisher led the Seminoles to conference titles from 2012 to 2014 and the national championship in 2013. He left for Texas A&M near the end of the 2017 season.
