Why no one in college sports seems to know what’s going on

DESTIN — After two days spent discussing some of the biggest issues in NCAA history, here was Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel’s takeaway from the SEC’s annual spring meetings:

“A bunch of questions coming in. Probably even more coming out.”

The true sign of a great meeting.

College sports is already known for moving at a glacial pace (a comparison that’s insulting to icebergs). The uncertainty surrounding the House v. NCAA antitrust lawsuit has bogged it down even more. Though all sides have agreed on the framework of a settlement, it hasn’t been finalized or approved by a judge.

“It’s going to be a process,” Gators athletic director Scott Stricklin said. “Each step of that process is going to give us a little bit more information, but it may be several months before we have a clear path here.”

In the meantime, let’s look at some of the unclear paths and why, as Heupel put it, there’s “no consensus on anything right now.”

Revenue sharing

What we know: Schools will be able to share about $22 million annually with players, likely starting in the fall of 2025.

What’s unclear: How that $22 million is divvied up. Will a starting quarterback make the same as a backup tackle, softball slugger or redshirt gymnast?

Why we don’t know what we don’t know: Title IX, for starters. The federal law is designed to ensure equity for males and females in education with things like scholarships. But what does equity mean here?

Does a school have to pay $11 million to male athletes and $11 million to female athletes? Or can it pay more to football players as long as the same number of women are being paid, too — say, 150 of each?

“We have to find out what the courts or some kind of legal authority says — whether it’s the Office for Civil Rights or a judge — about how we need to apply that,”…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-no-one-college-sports-110000452.html

Author : Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Publish date : 2024-06-01 11:00:00

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