NCAA posts job for Associate Director of NIL Enforcement

For more than a year, coaches and college athletics stakeholders have wondered when and how the NCAA would enforce NIL. The governing body showed a small sign Monday.

The NCAA’s national office has posted a job position of “Associate Director of Enforcement — Name, Image and Likeness” on Teamworks. As part of the role on the staff, the associate director would be tasked with effectively monitoring and enforcing compliance rules.

“As an active member of enforcement’s development staff, this position is primarily responsible for identifying potential NCAA violations while maintaining current knowledge of and monitoring trends associated with Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) specific to recruiting and college athletics, generally,” the job description states.

Creating NIL educational programming would be included in the role, as well investigations. As Associate Director of NIL Enforcement, the staffer would, “serve as the primary development lead for NCAA Bylaw 19 investigations related to NIL by identifying and analyzing actionable information of potential NCAA violations.”

A bachelor’s degree and five years of experience specific to athletics administration is a job requirement. The position would be based out of Indianapolis with an emphasis on travel. Key competencies for the position include leadership, inclusion, communication, collaboration and accountability.

The NCAA has been slow to make any moves regarding NIL punishment. In a letter sent to member schools in June, the organization included guidelines on how to identify and report NIL violations. In the messaging, the governing body made clear any enforcement would be directed toward figures who have participated in alleged illegal activity, not the eligibility status of athletes.

Days after the letter was sent, LifeWallet CEO John Ruiz told On3 he met with NCAA enforcement to discuss the number of NIL deals the company has struck with Miami student-athletes. The Miami booster agreed to meet voluntarily. At the time, it was the time the NCAA showed it was starting to have conversations with players in the NIL space.

Additionally, last December the NCAA went on a fact-finding mission regarding the Oregon-focused collective Division Street.

Where could the NCAA direct its NIL enforcement?

The NCAA showed where it could direct its future associate director of enforcement in a letter to member institutions from August. In the letter sent from the national office, the governing body asked for support in uncovering violations with NIL infractions cases.

“The enforcement staff is actively investigating potential abuses of NIL transactions, and we’ll allege any substantiated concerns as soon as possible,” the letter stated. “We also constantly review new reports of tampering, recruiting inducements, impermissible benefits, impermissible recruiters and other related behaviors. We engage across the membership and pursue actionable leads aggressively. As member schools know, our focus is not on targeting student-athletes, but rather the actors who pose a threat to the integrity of college sports.

“… Candidly, we need these materials because too many NIL arrangements are not made in the sunshine and getting accurate information is difficult. Individuals should contact the enforcement staff directly and any information can be provided anonymously.”

Coach after coach has vocalized the need to get with the new times or be left behind. Yet, that does not mean everyone shares the same sentiment. In a survey conducted by LEAD1, a group representing the interests of FBS athletic directors, 77% agreed an unregulated NIL market will lead to an increase in scandals, such as athletes being taken advantage of. 

The NCAA has been fearful to enforce its bylaws. And it’s also been unable. As previously reported by Sports Illustrated in May, the enforcement staff is down to roughly 15 to 20 members. The organization is also aware of the antitrust suits that could arise.