Big week ahead for NCAA's NIL reform plan

The NCAA will take the next step on Monday toward implementing transparency measures and consumer protections that its president, Charlie Baker, has persistently sought during his brief tenure.

The NCAA’s NIL working group will convene in a virtual meeting Monday to consider input from last week’s broader two-day meeting with stakeholders in Indianapolis. The goal is to draft a plan to be shared with the Division I Board of Directors on Tuesday.

A database of NIL activity, uniform contracts for deals and a registry for those participating in the space – including for agents and collectives – were among the primary concepts explored last week, a source told On3. 

Stakeholders stressed that they are not walking the landscape back to a pre-NIL era.

“There is no effort to reduce access to NIL opportunities for students,” Lynda Tealer, chair of the Division I Council, told On3. “Bringing some transparency into the process was discussed, as was the notion that even with the assistance of Congress. There is room for the NCAA to operate to add some stability and clarity to the NIL environment.”

NCAA still pursuing federal NIL bill

Evolving its interim policy – buttressing the underpinning of the space – does not reflect a strategy pivot, another source said. The NCAA continues to lobby Congress for a federal NIL bill aggressively.

But the NIL working group has been tasked with drafting a Plan B in case Congressional efforts fall short. 

Notably, the NCAA’s struggles to police NIL activity were not a large focus of the meetings. But NCAA guidelines clashing with new school-friendly state NIL laws – which provide programs in states like Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas and New York – cover from NCAA enforcement remains a major issue. The NCAA covets a national bill that preempts state law. 

Examining the NCAA’s aggressive push for federal NIL laws

The association remains fearful of policing the space because it’s increasingly vulnerable to litigation. Val Ackerman, the Big East commissioner, said during LEAD1 Association meetings this spring: “We’re sort of paralyzed now in our inability to pass rules. That was [caused by] Alston, which called into question the NCAA rule-making authority. That, I think, has been debilitating.”