Latest news with #collegeathletes
New York Times
a day ago
- 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.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Nevada WR Catches Court Win as NCAA Eligibility Cases Split
In the latest twist on whether college athletes whose NCAA eligibility has expired have a legal right to keep playing for NIL deals and preparation for pro sports, a federal judge in Nevada last Friday blocked the NCAA from rendering University of Nevada wide receiver Cortez Braham Jr. ineligible for what will be his seventh season in college sports. U.S. District Judge Miranda M. Du's ruling, which the NCAA can appeal to the U.S. Court for the Ninth Circuit, sets the table for a potential circuit split that attracts the interest of the U.S. Supreme Court. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed a ruling that would have allowed Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean to play a fifth season of college football in five years. Meanwhile, the NCAA and Vanderbilt quarterback and former JUCO transfer Diego Pavia, who last December received a court ruling to play another season this fall, wait for the Sixth Circuit to decide. More from Offsides: The Two House Dems Who Make GOP's SCORE Act 'Bipartisan' NCAA Defeats Terrelle Pryor's Lawsuit Over Lost NIL Opportunities Every Division I School's Revenue-Sharing Decision for 2025-26 As Sportico detailed when Braham sued in May, he played three seasons of JUCO football and then three seasons in D-I, including in 2024 when he started all 13 games for the Wolf Pack and was second in the team in receptions and receiving yards. Braham seeks to play another season so that he can sign NIL deals worth about $500,000 and develop his football skills in preparation for the NFL. He alleges that the loss of a 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' to play D-I football would not only negate lucrative NIL opportunities but would, as Du explained, 'impair his prospects of playing professionally, deprive him of essential training and competition experiences, and adversely affect his personal well-being and mental health.' Through attorneys Brandon D. Wright and Gregg E. Clifton of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, Braham argues the five-year rule, which limits athletes to four seasons of intercollegiate competition—including JUCO competition—in any one sport within a five-year window, runs afoul of antitrust law. He insists the rule shouldn't apply to time spent at a junior college since such an educational institution is not governed by the NCAA and because the rule doesn't apply to athletes who do a post-graduate year after high school or partake in other activities including, Du writes, 'military service, religious missions, professional careers in other sports, or independent athletic or academic work.' The basic logic: Why should going to a junior college count against the clock, but a post-graduate year, military service, religious mission or a pro career in another sport not count? Du agreed with Braham that he is part of a labor market for D-I college football given 'it is the sole pathway to NFL opportunities, and participation provides unique benefits, including NIL compensation, which are not available elsewhere, including at the JUCO level.' She also reasoned that in the current college sports world where athletes can sign NIL deals and now share revenue pursuant to the House settlement, eligibility rules are 'commercial' in nature and thus subject to antitrust scrutiny when they restrain economic opportunities. The judge also endorsed Braham's antitrust arguments, including that the five-year rule 'results in commercial harm' to JUCO players, who are 'excluded from the various benefits' conferred in D-I football. Those benefits include 'more exposure, potentially better competition and coaching, and financial advantages due to the NIL opportunities.' Likewise, Du wasn't persuaded by the NCAA's assertion that the five-year rule preserves college athletics as a unique product that is distinguishable from pro sports. She stressed that justification 'runs counter to the NCAA's other exceptions to its five-year rule that allow for older students to join after prep school, military service and/or religious obligations.' The judge also didn't buy the NCAA's assertion that exempting JUCO years from the five-year rule would enable athletes to 'compete indefinitely' at JUCO before transferring to a D-I school or that the rule 'ensures natural degree progression.' Du kept stressing that exceptions under the five-year rule for other pursuits, such as a post-graduate year, 'highlights the unfairness of treating JUCO competition as analogous to D-I competition.' Further, Du found that even though much of Braham's desire to keep playing is to land what he says are about $500,000 in NIL deals, the receiver would suffer irreparable harm without an injunction. In law, irreparable harm generally means the kind of harm that money damages can't later remedy if a case goes to trial and wins. Of course, an estimated loss of $500,000 could be remedied by money since it is a quantifiable figure. But Du reasoned that 'regardless' of whether NIL offers 'may result in calculable monetary compensation,' the more salient point (in her view) is that 'forgone opportunity to 'market' one's 'name' and 'likeness' and to 'showcase abilities to future employers' cannot be estimated or quantified.' She also referenced how playing another season will impact Braham's NFL and pro football prospects and that 'constitutes a unique harm' that can't be fully compensated by money. In another adverse take on an NCAA argument, Du found unconvincing the NCAA's point that Braham—and by logical extension those similarly situated—playing another year would displace other athletes. One displaced athlete is the player whose scholarship and spot on the Wolf Pack football roster this fall is predicated on Braham not being on the roster. 'The NCAA,' Du wrote, 'failed to present any evidence of a fixed roster demonstrating proof of actual displacement.' The NCAA can appeal Du's order to the Ninth Circuit. Many of the NCAA's arguments have persuaded other judges reviewing similar cases, particularly since there might not be a 'limiting principle' to athletes suing to keep playing. After all, if an athlete's forgone NIL opportunities and development of skills in preparation for a career in the NFL (or NBA, WNBA, etc.) are justifications under antitrust law to keep playing, athletes might sue to remain in college sports for several years, including while enrolled at a university as a grad student. The prospect of a split among federal circuits on whether the five-year rule complies with, or violates, antitrust law could attract the interest of the U.S. Supreme Court, since athletes (and universities) in different parts of the country would essentially have different rights. In a statement shared with Sportico, an NCAA spokesperson said the association 'stands by its eligibility rules' as they 'enable student-athletes and schools to have fair competition and ensure broad access' to opportunities to play college sports. The spokesperson also alluded to the prospect of Congress intervening to grant the NCAA an exemption from antitrust scrutiny on eligibility matters. 'As legal outcomes continue to differ from case to case,' the spokesperson said, 'the NCAA believes partnering with Congress is essential to provide clarity and stability for current and future student-athletes.' Best of College Athletes as Employees: Answering 25 Key Questions
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Unrivaled announces NIL deals with 14 college players, including JuJu Watkins and Flau'Jae Johnson
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — JuJu Watkins, Flau'Jae Johnson and Azzi Fudd are three of 14 top women's college basketball players that Unrivaled is signing to NIL deals, the league announced Saturday. It's the second consecutive year that the 3-on-3 league that was founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart has had name, image and likeness deals with college players. In it's inaugural season, Unrivaled had deals with Paige Bueckers and Johnson. Watkins, who plays for Southern California but is sidelined with an ACL injury, has also previously been involved with Unrivaled as an investor in its Series A funding round. Johnson, who is at LSU, and Fudd, at UConn, both were on hand for the announcement, as were Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo and UConn's Sarah Strong. Other players signed include TCU's Olivia Miles, UCLA's Kiki Rice and Lauren and Sienna Betts, Texas' Madison Booker, Iowa State's Audi Crooks, LSU's MiLaysia Fulwiley, South Carolina Ta'Niya Latson and Michigan's Syla Swords. The players range from sophomores to seniors. Women's basketball players have been able to take advantage of NIL opportunities over the last few years with Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Bueckers and Johnson at the forefront of it. Reese played in Unrivaled in its first season. As part of the initiative, the class will be attending a multi-day event at the league's headquarters in Miami, which will include skill development and content shoots. 'This transformational, first-of-its-kind initiative brings together the best of the best and reflects our deep commitment to elevating the women's game and holistically supporting athletes,' Luke Cooper, President of Basketball Operations at Unrivaled, said in the initiative's announcement. 'Investing in elite women's basketball talent is central to Unrivaled's mission.' Unrivaled completed its inaugural season this past March, and is gearing up for its second this coming January. ___ AP WNBA:
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Unrivaled announces NIL deals with 14 college players, including JuJu Watkins and Flau'Jae Johnson
INDIANAPOLIS — JuJu Watkins, Flau'Jae Johnson and Azzi Fudd are three of 14 top women's college basketball players that Unrivaled is signing to NIL deals, the league announced Saturday. It's the second consecutive year that the 3-on-3 league that was founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart has had name, image and likeness deals with college players. In it's inaugural season, Unrivaled had deals with Paige Bueckers and Johnson.
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Unrivaled announces NIL deals with 14 college players, including JuJu Watkins and Flau'Jae Johnson
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — JuJu Watkins, Flau'Jae Johnson and Azzi Fudd are three of 14 top women's college basketball players that Unrivaled is signing to NIL deals, the league announced Saturday. It's the second consecutive year that the 3-on-3 league that was founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart has had name, image and likeness deals with college players. In it's inaugural season, Unrivaled had deals with Paige Bueckers and Johnson. Watkins, who plays for Southern California but is sidelined with an ACL injury, has also previously been involved with Unrivaled as an investor in its Series A funding round. Johnson, who is at LSU, and Fudd, at UConn, both were on hand for the announcement, as were Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo and UConn's Sarah Strong. Other players signed include TCU's Olivia Miles, UCLA's Kiki Rice and Lauren and Sienna Betts, Texas' Madison Booker, Iowa State's Audi Crooks, LSU's MiLaysia Fulwiley, South Carolina Ta'Niya Latson and Michigan's Syla Swords. The players range from sophomores to seniors. Women's basketball players have been able to take advantage of NIL opportunities over the last few years with Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Bueckers and Johnson at the forefront of it. Reese played in Unrivaled in its first season. As part of the initiative, the class will be attending a multi-day event at the league's headquarters in Miami, which will include skill development and content shoots. 'This transformational, first-of-its-kind initiative brings together the best of the best and reflects our deep commitment to elevating the women's game and holistically supporting athletes,' Luke Cooper, President of Basketball Operations at Unrivaled, said in the initiative's announcement. 'Investing in elite women's basketball talent is central to Unrivaled's mission.' Unrivaled completed its inaugural season this past March, and is gearing up for its second this coming January. ___ AP WNBA:
