Charlie Baker issues letter to NCAA membership following NIL preliminary injunction decision

In the wake of the preliminary injunction halting the NCAA’s power to prohibit recruits and transfer portal athletes from negotiating their NIL, President Charlie Baker has issued a letter to his membership.

In a memo obtained by On3 on Monday, Baker described the questions he received over the weekend asking what Judge Clifton L. Corker’s ruling means. In light of the actions, Baker announced he plans to convene the Division I Board of Directors and the Board of Governors “to discuss next steps.” The lawsuit led by the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia was filed last month, the day after news broke the NCAA was investigating Tennessee athletics for multiple alleged NIL violations.

While no direct guidance or ruling is included in the one-page letter, Baker wrote that delivering accurate information is essential. One source described the letter to On3 as a “wait and see” email.

“As you may know, we made clear that the NCAA fully supports the rights of student-athletes to benefit from exercising their NIL rights, but expressed concern that granting this preliminary injunction would make what is currently a chaotic environment worse,” Baker wrote on Monday. “You have many questions, and we know you need to hear from us. But given the significance and sweep of this decision, it’s critical that our guidance to you and your colleagues on this ruling be accurate.

“The ruling affects several NCAA bylaws and policies in Division I, and the NCAA is quickly developing guidance on which rules are enjoined by the court order.”

NCAA: ‘We will be back to you on the ruling shortly’

The former Massachusetts governor goes on to write that the recent adoption of NIL transparency and consumer protection measures “will bring clarity to a muddled space.” The preliminary injunction, announced on Friday in the Eastern District Court of Tennessee in Greenville, Tennessee, comes after a preliminary injunction hearing on Feb. 13. Corker heard both sides in the hearing, which included NCAA attorneys struggling to make clear to the court whether prospective athletes can engage in conversations about NIL opportunities.

The stakes are high for the NCAA, which is again in the courtroom battling for its hold on amateurism. Tennessee and Virginia are all-in and invested in the battle to defeat the governing body. The injunction leaves the NCAA powerless to govern NIL in college sports.

“As I said at our convention, what’s at stake is too important for any of us to stand by and hope it will just get better,” the NCAA president said. “And if we all do our part, get involved, do the work and play the hand, we can continue to make progress on the large, complicated problems we face. We will be back to you on the ruling shortly.”