In this week’s Film Room, we unpack an important NCAA announcement regarding House implementation, focusing on:
- Enforcement changes and questions
- Progress toward degree significance
On Monday, April 21, 2025, the NCAA DI Board of Directors announced sweeping changes to the DI Manual that would take effect if the House settlement is approved.
While significant, many of the changes—like permitting institutions to provide student-athletes with settlement-related benefits up to the cap—were both not surprising and necessary to sync up with the terms of the House settlement. Two of the more noteworthy items in the announcement regard changes to the enforcement process and the continuing—and expanded—impact of student-athlete progress toward degree requirements.
Enforcement—Some Direction, Questions Remain
The NCAA’s official announcement indicated that the Board approved new rules that would establish “[t]he creation of an enforcement group—created and operated by the defendant conferences—that would provide oversight for rules relating to the terms of the settlement, including third-party NIL and the annual benefits cap.”
Relatedly, a report published a summary document noting that “the NIL Clearinghouse will evaluate all agreements with entities and individuals associated with an institution to determine whether (1) a valid business purpose exists and (2) the payment is within a range of compensation.”
The subjective nature of that exercise begs questions regarding process and standards that are yet to be answered. Assuming settlement approval, institutions will be empowered to facilitate third-party NIL deals for their student-athletes. Institutions that work within the system that’s ultimately adopted to drive compliant and low-friction opportunities for their student-athletes will enjoy a recruiting advantage.
Progress Toward Degree—a Prerequisite to Institutional Payment
The NCAA’s announcement also indicated that the Board approved a “requirement that for student-athletes to receive the new benefits, they must be enrolled full-time, meet Division I progress-toward-degree requirements and receive such benefits during their period of eligibility (e.g., five-year clock).”
With payments to student-athletes at stake, progress toward degree status should garner even greater attention. Expect the already challenging role of academic support staff in athletic departments to be even more critical and face still greater tension in the new model.
House Status
The Board’s announcement and much of the momentum in the membership assumes approval of the House settlement. As you all know, the Court has not yet approved the settlement. Relatedly, over 100 letters from complaining student-athletes and others, mostly about roster limits, hit the Court’s docket earlier this week.
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