Meeting resources and materials:
- C.A.R.E. Model Conference Grants and C.A.R.E. Champions press release
- Session summaries and panelist bios
- Video recording: Session 1: “Impact of proposed House settlement and college athlete-employment cases, including a discussion of Title IX”
NOTE: This session was held on September 18, 2024, and the discussion was focused on the proposed House v. NCAA settlement terms as of the session date. On September 26, 2024, revisions to the settlement terms were filed. The September 26 revisions included a Title IX waiver on past damages, which was not included in the original settlement filing. This topic was discussed in the September 18 session. The settlement revisions also included some changes around proposed new NIL regulations.
- Video recording: Session 2: “Designing a new model for D-I college sports in the face of legal realities”
- Presentation Deck: Session 2: “Designing a new model for D-I college sports in the face of legal realities”
- Photos available for use here
On Wednesday, September 18, 2024, at the Hamilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics held its fall 2024 public meeting which included two public panel sessions to address the future of intercollegiate athletics. Descriptions for the public sessions and a list of participating experts are below.
Follow @KnightAthletics for the latest developments from this meeting.
Session 1: “Impact of proposed House settlement and college athlete-employment cases, including a discussion of Title IX”
NOTE: This session was held on September 18, 2024, and the discussion was focused on the proposed House v. NCAA settlement terms as of the session date. On September 26, 2024, revisions to the settlement terms were filed. The September 26 revisions included a Title IX waiver on past damages, which was not included in the original settlement filing. This topic was discussed in the September 18 session. The settlement revisions also included some changes around proposed new NIL regulations.
The NCAA is in the midst of the most transformational period in its history, pushed by a series of lawsuits challenging the longstanding “amateurism” model of college sports. If judicially approved, the proposed settlement in House v. NCAA will distribute billions of dollars to college athletes and create a new system for college athlete compensation going forward. At the same time, the National Labor Relations Board and federal courts are in the process of determining whether college athletes are employees and entitled to unionize, receive minimum wage, and obtain other benefits.
In this session, legal experts will provide an analysis of the proposed House settlement and the college athlete employment cases to help you better understand the key points and implications of these cases, including the potential application of Title IX to revenue sharing and benefits provided to employee-athletes.
Panelists:
- Jill Bodensteiner, Vice President and Director of Athletics, St. Joseph’s University
- Gabe Feldman, Director, Tulane University Sports Law Program and Knight Commission Legal Consultant
- Janet Judge, Partner, Education & Sports Law Group LLC
Eye-opening Insights from Session I
On whether the House v. NCAA settlement impacts athlete employment cases:
“The House settlement is an antitrust case… It cannot and does not, regardless of the terms of the settlement, impact the determination of employee status of college athletes under the FLSA or the NLRA, that will be determined in Federal Court, by the NLRB, eventually maybe by the Supreme Court.”
Gabe Feldman, Director, Tulane University Sports Law Program
On the factor of “control” impacting determinations that college athletes may be employees:“I would encourage the practitioners…in athletic departments [to] ask where are you on control in your department, and is it reasonable or unreasonable?”
Jill Bodensteiner, Vice President and Director of Athletics, St. Joseph’s University
Resource: Institutions should examine these control factors presented in Session 2
On a discussion of Title IX and impact of potential new revenue sharing payments (e.g. “fund payments”) in House v. NCAA settlement:
“As noted earlier, Title IX expressly includes opportunities and benefits associated with athletics participation. Fund payments clearly are both athletics opportunities and benefits of participation, and I would say just as education related as barbershop chairs, gaming systems, DJ’s, and sleeping pods in locker rooms, and those are all covered under Title IX.”
“…In short, I believe the question is not whether Title IX applies, but rather how Title IX will apply.”
Janet Judge, Attorney, Partner, Education & Sports Law Group LLC
“Designing a new model for D-I college sports in the face of legal realities”
This session was presented by college sports administrators and athletes who have identified key elements for change in a new Division I model for their subgroup of institutions to address legal realities. These leaders represent institutions that compete in the DI – Football Championships Subdivision and Division I institutions without football – a subgroup that includes 220 institutions and more than 100,000 college athletes.
Panelists:
- Michael Cross, Commissioner, Southern Conference
- Janet Cone, Senior Administrator for University Enterprises & Athletics Director, UNC Asheville
- Anthony Egbo, Vice-chair, NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee; former football college athlete, Abilene Christian University
- Meredith Page, Vice-chair, NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee; volleyball college athlete, Radford University
Impactful Insights from Session 2
On access to D-I championships, uniform playing rules, and preserving crucial revenue streams:
“Our conferences and schools want access to Division I championships. We need to have consistent playing rules and agree on what those rules are going to look like. Then the third piece is…preserving the crucial revenue streams that are funding Division I athletics right now at the conference level.”
Michael Cross, Commissioner, The Southern Conference
Resource: Recommended NCAA Division I Framework
On the criteria for athletes to benefit from the education-based model of college athletics:
“For athletes to be student-athletes, institutional leaders are going to need to focus on three primary things: one, we have to rebalance the level of control over student-athletes; two, create greater clarity, understanding, and measure how student-athletes and their institutions benefit from athletic programs; [and], three, reframe college athletics through a higher education lens by transforming the college athletic experience into part of the educational mission and academic experience.”
Janet Cone, Senior Administrator for University Enterprises & Athletics Director, UNC Asheville
On changes to governance where college athletes have input and influence over their own experiences:
“Creating an opportunity for student-athletes to have influence on and vote on conference- specific issues that directly affect their experiences is something we are standing here and earnestly advocating for. We, the student-athletes, believe that we should have a direct role in shaping our experiences…within the system at every level of governance.”
Anthony Egbo, Jr., Vice-Chair, NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, former football college athlete, Abilene Christian University
“We need to instill a governance around the student-athlete experience. Having them seriously involved at every single level by providing student-athletes with a systematic avenue to mediate and resolve their conflicts. After all, they’re the ones that feel the impact the most; from the most minute changes to the most overarching bylaws, we feel it.”
Meredith Page, Vice-Chair, NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, volleyball college athlete, Radford University
Big Sky Conference, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and The Southern Conference Earn Inaugural C.A.R.E. Model Recognitions
The Knight Commission announced that the Big Sky Conference, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), and The Southern Conference are the recipients of its inaugural C.A.R.E. Model Conference Grants. The grants support their commitment to the C.A.R.E. Model principles in their distribution and use of shared athletics revenues.
The Knight Commission recognized the MAAC and The Southern Conference as the nation’s first C.A.R.E. Champions by fully implementing all the C.A.R.E. Model requirements, which prioritize the education and well-being of college athletes while integrating education-based principles in financial incentives and athletics spending.
Full press release on C.A.R.E. Champions and C.A.R.E. Model Recognitions
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About the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics
The Knight Commission, founded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in 1989, is an independent group that leads transformational change to prioritize college athletes’ education, health, safety, and success. Knight Foundation has been its sole funder to ensure its independence. For more information about the Commission’s impact, recommendations, and reports, visit knightcommission.org.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy. For more, visit kf.org.
Media Inquiries:
JoJo Rinebold: jojo@rineboldresults.com