CHAMPAIGN — Let’s try the impossible today … to simplify, insofar as possible, the tangled mess of college sports as we look ahead to the 2025-26 school year.
Q: How did this chaos happen?
A: With TV income reaching stratospheric heights, and past athletes not receiving their fair share, former Arizona State swimmer Grant House became the lead litigant among multiple antitrust suits against the NCAA.
Rather than go to trial, the NCAA agreed to a settlement that was to be resolved this month. It is temporarily delayed by Judge Claudia Wilken, who expressed concerns that new roster caps — 105 for football, 34 for baseball, etc. — would cause some athletes to be cut. Look for a resolution allowing many former walk-ons to be “grandfathered in.”
Q: What happens in the coming school year?
A: It’s 12 more months of the Wild West, with essentially no guidelines relative to name, image and likeness deals. To begin with, the Supreme Court has ruled that Illini athletes, among others, deserve nearly $6,000 in “cost of attendance” stipends beyond their scholarships. In new business, the UI Department of Intercollegiate Athletics will decide how to distribute $20.5 million from budget revenue to members of 21 sports, with the presumption that two-thirds or more will go to football, and several million to men’s basketball. In addition, the DIA is obligated to pay nearly $2 million annually for 10 years in back pay to athletes, dating to 2016.
Q: What’s back pay?
A: That is NIL money that former athletes could have earned if NCAA rules hadn’t prevented it. You might call these amounts rather subjective.
Q: Why all the complaints from smaller schools in this “back pay” regard?
A: First, they did not get a vote as the power conferences made the decision. Second, they felt their payments were too severe since they had few athletes worthy of NIL. So, the University of South Dakota filed a suit complaining that two schools in that state would be required to pay $8 million over 10 years. And they won, meaning the NCAA will dip into a $55 million bank account to restore 33 percent of the money “owed” by all of the small schools.
Q: OK, what happens when the so-called guidelines are fully implemented July 1?
A: We’ve seen a rush this spring to pay football and basketball athletes multi-millions in third-party NIL for the coming season. Beginning July 1, all third-party deals more than $600 will be evaluated for appropriateness by the accounting firm Deloitte (more subjective decision-making), including monthly contracts going past that point.
Imagine this example: A 7-foot sophomore, though lacking in NBA qualities, might have already banked a pay-for-play deal for $2 million this coming basketball season, and then find himself limited by the $600 rule a year later. This is unrelated to whatever portion he might receive from the university’s $20.5 million distributions. Court cases will abound.
Q: Is Title IX involved? Will female athletes receive a share?
A: Illini women will continue to receive the $6,000 cost of education distribution but only a small share of the $20.5 million. As athletic director Josh Whitman stated before Congress, the athletes who earn the money for the DIA will receive most of the revenue distributions. As for NIL, it’s up to them.
Q: Will the future limitations on NIL bring about more equal competition in football and men’s basketball?
A: Yes, if nobody cheats. But cheating has always been rampant in basketball. Two of the Final Four coaches this year, Auburn’s Bruce Pearl and Houston’s Kelvin Sampson, were formerly suspended for multiple violations. Cheating could get worse because all major coaches have located so many willing big-money donors who want to see their teams win … and they won’t be handing out traceable checks.
Q: What does all this mean for smaller schools like Illinois State and Eastern Illinois?
A: It means they’re likely to see their best players transfer to Power 4 schools, as we’ve seen already. Such is the alluring nature of money.
Q: What part does academic eligibility play in this?
A: Very little. Once upon a time, stars like Nick Anderson and Marcus Liberty had to sit out a season for academic reasons. Current coaches are quoted as saying education is seldom part of recruiting discussions any more. And by the way, when is the last time anyone went ineligible? And how long will it take for the clearinghouse to determine the school year for 22-year-old Serbian point guard Mihailo Petrovic at the UI?
Q. Why is the University of Kentucky making the athletic department an LLC?
A: In creating a fuzzy line between business and education, Kentucky trustees decided all sports there will break off into a Limited Liability Company called Champions Blue. They will have a board of insiders and outsiders, including some from pro sports, authorized to raise funds in ways — like real estate — previously untapped. Kentucky will forever be able to outbid others for basketball stars, as has been the case going back to Adolph Rupp.
Excuse me for saying this business of college sports could be explained simply.
Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette. He can be reached at [email protected].
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