NCAA approves blanket waiver for unlimited official visits in basketball

The NCAA has reportedly moved to allow schools an unlimited number of official visits in men’s and women’s basketball.

The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach reported on the change Thursday morning, with the new waiver going into effect immediately. The waiver must still go to the Division I Council for adoption in June.

The move has been a requested change by college coaches across the country, as a remedy to the impacts of the transfer portal. Because the transfer portal encourages more moves, players have the need to take more visits.

Previously, though, schools could only host so many and once they were out of visits they had to stop officially hosting prospects. This new rule will alleviate that.

House Republicans introduce bill to protect NCAA, conferences from legal challenges

Two House Republicans introduced legislation Wednesday that would protect the NCAA, conferences and institutions from litigation in enforcing NIL rules and governing college athletics.

Introduced by Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.) and Rep. Barry Moore (R-Ala.), the Protect The Ball Act does not check off every need for the NCAA. The bill is intended to accompany a broader bill, which could outline the framework for the future of college sports.

As settlement talks heat up in the House vs. NCAA lawsuit – which could see the college sports governing body owe something in the neighborhood of $2.9 billion in back damages – questions surround how the possible arrangement could be implemented.

Only two options are viable: Congressional assistance or a collective bargaining agreement. Both would help the NCAA stave off further lawsuits and retribution. This bill could be viewed as one of the first steps to securing help from Washington, D.C.

The NCAA has not had any luck in the halls of Congress, however, as no piece of legislation introduced on NIL and college sports has even made it to a vote.

“The Protect the BALL Act preserves the opportunity for more than 500,000 NCAA student-athletes to compete and protects universities from constant litigation in the NIL era,” Barry said in a statement. “I am grateful to Congressman Fry for working with me on this legislation that allows universities to freely work toward new benefits for their athletes.”

On3’s Pete Nakos also contributed to this report.