NCAA Board of Governors Announces Plans to Let Student-Athletes Profit Off Name, Image and Likeness
Just weeks after California announced plans to allow student athletes to begin making money off their name, image and likeness, the NCAA announced on Tuesday it will move towards doing the same on a nation-wide scale.
The Board of Governors voted unanimously on Tuesday to, “permit students participating in athletics the opportunity to benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness in a manner consistent with the collegiate model.”
Michael V. Drake, chair of the board and president of The Ohio State University said in a statement, “We must embrace change to provide the best possible experience for college athletes. Additional flexibility in this area can and must continue to support college sports as a part of higher education. This modernization for the future is a natural extension of the numerous steps NCAA members have taken in recent years to improve support for student-athletes, including full cost of attendance and guaranteed scholarships.”
Here are the guidelines the NCAA says it wants to “modernize”:
- Assure student-athletes are treated similarly to non-athlete students unless a compelling reason exists to differentiate.
- Maintain the priorities of education and the collegiate experience to provide opportunities for student-athlete success.
- Ensure rules are transparent, focused and enforceable and facilitate fair and balanced competition.
- Make clear the distinction between collegiate and professional opportunities.
- Make clear that compensation for athletics performance or participation is impermissible.
- Reaffirm that student-athletes are students first and not employees of the university.
- Enhance principles of diversity, inclusion and gender equity.
- Protect the recruiting environment and prohibit inducements to select, remain at, or transfer to a specific institution.
The board says it will start accepting recommendations from all three Divisions and wants to begin implementing change by January of 2021.
Will this help college athletics or make it even messier? It depends on the roll out. Time will tell.
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