• D3Playbook
  • Posts
  • Attorney: NCAA Antitrust Lawsuits Settlement to be Filed Friday

Attorney: NCAA Antitrust Lawsuits Settlement to be Filed Friday

P4 Agrees to Roster Size Limits. What Does That Mean For DIII?

Author

Steve Ulrich
July 25, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

JULY 25, 2024 | written by STEVE ULRICH

The news that you need to know about non-scholarship college athletics and those that love it.
Send tips to [email protected] and/or via DM. #whyD3

🦘 G’day DIII. Congrats. You’re almost to the weekend. Thanks for supporting D3Playbook.

» 📆 What’s Happening Today. The DIII Nominating Committee holds a virtual meeting.

TOP STORY
1. Attorney: NCAA Antitrust Lawsuits Settlement to be Filed Friday

by Associated Press

“The full settlement agreement of antitrust lawsuits involving the NCAA and college sports' wealthiest conferences is expected to be filed with a federal court by the end of the week, an attorney for the defendants told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

"I expect that we will file Friday," said Steve Berman, the Seattle-based attorney of the Hagens Berman law firm.

The NCAA, along with the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference, agreed May 23 to the framework of a $2.77 billion settlement of multiple antitrust lawsuits that were challenging limits on college athlete compensation.”

» Driving The News. “In addition to the damages the NCAA will pay out to eligible former and current college athletes from the case known as House v. NCAA, the association and conferences have agreed to a plan to allow schools to share revenue generated by athletics with athletes. Schools will be permitted to divert about $22 million to their athletes starting in 2025, a number that is expected to rise as athletic revenues rise for power conference schools.”

» What’s Next. “After the full agreement is filed to the court for U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken to consider, a motion will be made for preliminary approval from the court. Berman said a motion for preliminary approval typically gets granted.”

» Reality Check. "So the way this is going to work out is that at some point like 60, 70 days from now, after the notice goes out, if you're an athlete, you'll be able to get on a website and put your name in and the website will tell you how much you're going to get out of the settlement," Berman said.”

STUDENTS

2. P4 Conferences Recommend Roster-Size Limits That Could Have DIII Impact

by Ross Dellenger, Yahoo! Sports

“Dozens more scholarship spots are coming to NCAA sports.

During a meeting Tuesday, power conference commissioners finalized new roster-size limits that pave the way for athletic departments to distribute millions of dollars in new scholarships to athletes in, most notably, football, baseball and softball. Conference officials with knowledge of the figures spoke to Yahoo Sports under condition of anonymity.

As part of the new revenue-sharing model — beginning in 2025-26 academic year — by-sport scholarship restrictions are eliminated, and schools are permitted to offer scholarships to the entirety of their rosters. The new roster limit figures are not final until the approval of House settlement terms.”

» Driving The News. “The details around roster sizes of other sports — many of which will see increases in scholarship slots — are expected in the document. No sport will see a reduction in scholarship spots, according to plaintiff attorneys. As part of the agreement, roster limits must be set at or more than current scholarship restriction for each sport.”

» Between The Lines. “Another key change to the scholarship structure: All sports will be considered “equivalency sports,” meaning partial scholarships can be distributed to players. Football, basketball and other sports are currently considered “head-count sports,” which require players on scholarship to receive a full grant.”

» Of Note. “To maintain compliance with the federal Title IX law, any scholarship increases in a men’s sport will likely need to be replicated in a women’s sport, driving up the additional costs. But not all programs can afford to add so many additional scholarships. Some administrators are in the process of “tiering” their sports by decreasing investment on certain programs and increasing investment in others. This includes staff and salary cuts as well as the reduction in scholarships from Olympic sports, especially those that generate little to no revenue.”

PRESEASON POLLS

3. National Finalists Top Preseason Football Poll

We must be getting close to the 2024 football season as one of the most respected polls has released its preseason ranking.

The two teams that played in the 2023 Stagg Bowl come in at 1-2 in the D3football.com poll but not in the order they finished a year ago. Runner-up North Central received 14 of 25 first-place ballots to edge national champion Cortland by nine points. The Red Dragons were the recipient of the remaining 11 first-place votes.

UW-Whitewater, Wartburg and Mount Union round out the top five.

  1. North Central (14), 14-1

  2. Cortland (11), 14-1

  3. UW-Whitewater, 11-2

  4. Wartburg, 13-1

  5. Mount Union, 11-1

  6. UW-La Crosse, 11-2

  7. Alma, 12-1

  8. Johns Hopkins, 12-1

  9. Wheaton IL, 10-2

  10. Randolph-Macon, 13-1

  11. Grove City, 11-1

  12. Susquehanna, 10-1

  1. Trinity TX, 10-2

  2. Saint John’s, 8-2

  3. Aurora, 11-1

  4. Hardin-Simmons, 9-2

  5. UW-River Falls, 7-3

  6. Endicott, 9-2

  7. John Carroll, 8-2

  8. Ithaca, 9-3

  9. Muhlenberg, 10-1

  10. Carnegie Mellon, 10-1

  11. Linfield, 8-1

  12. Whitworth, 10-1

  13. Berry, 9-1

» Conference Call. WIAC (3), CC (2), CCIW (2), NWC (2), OAC (2), PAC (2), SAA (2), A-R-C (1), ASC (1), CCC (1), E8 (1), LC (1), LL (1), MIAA (1), MIAC (1), NACC (1), ODAC (1)

CONFERENCES

4. UMAC Introduces New Brand Identity

“The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) is excited to announce and release a revitalized brand identity, equipping the conference and its membership with a modernized brand toolkit built for the future. A full range of conference stakeholders were engaged in a collaborative creative process guided by the New Jersey-based agency SKYE, leaders in sport branding.

The previous UMAC logo was first introduced in 2003 and provided the conference with a brand identity for the past 20 years. The appearance of the new UMAC brand identity is a departure in both style and color from the previous one.”

» Worth Noting. “The new logo was designed to convey toughness, togetherness, and an upward trajectory – that's the conference story,” said SKYE Founder Skye Dillon. “Color also plays a key role in the new look. Icy blue was introduced to represent the harsh climate of the Upper Midwest, and maroon was retained as an accent to pay tribute to the UMAC roots.”

» What They’re Saying. “We will strategically integrate the new logo and identity initiative into all aspects of our conference operations including digital and social media platforms, new external signage, various general and sport-specific championship enhancements, apparel offerings and other branding opportunities,” said UMAC Commissioner Corey Borchardt.”

TRANSACTIONS
5. Comings and Goings

1 THING
6. #WhyD3

📬 Thanks for starting your day with us!

What did you think of today's newsletter?

Your feedback helps make D3Playbook better.

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.


Please invite your friends to sign up forD3Playbook

Copyright © 2024, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved

Reply

or to participate.