Media Advisory: Knight Commission’s Sept. 18 Public Meeting

For Public Release
September 3, 2024

Media Inquiries:
JoJo Rinebold: jojo@rineboldresults.com

On Wednesday, September 18, 2024, at the Hamilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics will hold its fall 2024 public meeting which includes two public panel sessions to address the future of intercollegiate athletics. Descriptions for the public sessions and a list of participating experts are below.

To attend the public meeting in-person or virtually, register here.

Access to the press conference requires a separate registration here.

Follow @KnightAthletics for the latest developments from this meeting.

Photographs available for media use and highlights from the meeting will be posted on this page following the event.

WHAT: Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics’ public meeting and press conference

WHERE:  Hamilton Hotel, Hamilton Ballroom, 1001 14th Street, NW; Washington, DC 20005

AGENDA: Wednesday, September 18, 2024, 9:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m. EDT (public sessions),
complete schedule below

9:00 – 10:30 a.m. EDT | Public Session
“Impact of proposed House settlement and college athlete-employment cases, including a discussion of Title IX”

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

10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. EDT | Public Session
“Designing a new model for D-I college sports in the face of legal realities”

This session is 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 complete 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

12:30 p.m. EDT | Press Conference
Announcement of Knight Commission C.A.R.E. Champion Conferences and Conference Grant Recipients

Knight Commission Co-Chairs Pam Bernard and Len Elmore will announce the Division I Conferences selected to receive the inaugural C.A.R.E. Model Conference Grants as well as commend the C.A.R.E. Model Conference Champions, which are conferences that have already implemented all C.A.R.E. Model principles.  Commissioners of the achieving Division I Conferences will participate.

The press conference is open to media and others, in-person or virtually.

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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.