Tag: Power 5

The SEC logo in the hallway at the Hilton Sandestin in Destin, Fla. on Tuesday May 31, 2022 at the annual SEC spring meetings.

Report: Power 5, NCAA reach historic agreement to pay players

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The SEC and Pac-12 joined the three other power conferences – the Big Ten, ACC and Big 12 – and the NCAA in agreeing on a multi-billion-dollar settlement that would allow schools to directly pay student-athletes for the first time in NCAA history, ESPN reported on Thursday.

“The five autonomy conferences and the NCAA agreeing to settlement terms is an important step in the continuing reform of college sports that will provide benefits to student-athletes and provide clarity in college athletics across all divisions for years to come,” NCAA president Charlie Baker and the five power conference commissioners said in a joint statement Thursday evening.

With the NCAA’s board agreeing to the terms of the settlement — which would also resolve three federal antitrust cases — former college athletes are one step closer to getting over $2.7 billion in back damages over the next decade because of previous restrictions on name, image and likeness (NIL) deals.

Future athletes also would benefit, as the Big 12, Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Ten — three of the defendants in the case — are hoping to put a system in place that would give schools the power to pay them about $20 million per year in permissive revenue sharing.

Such payments wouldn’t start until fall of 2025.

The ACC and Big 12 accepted the terms of the settlement on Tuesday. The Big Ten joined in on Wednesday.

Per the terms of the agreement, athletes won’t be able to sue the NCAA in future antitrust lawsuits and must drop their complaints in three current lawsuits: Carter v. NCAA, Hubbard v. NCAA and House v. NCAA.

Former Colorado football player Alex Fontenot’s lawsuit against the NCAA is not included in this pending settlement. Fontenot’s suit is regarding how the NCAA shares TV revenues with players.

The settlement is not yet official as it requires the approval of U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken, who is presiding over the three antitrust cases. Also, if players choose to join Fontenot’s lawsuit, the settlement agreed on by the NCAA and Power 5 could be rendered null and void.

–Field Level Media

Sep 7, 2019; University Park, PA, USA; A general view of the Big Ten logo prior to the game between the Buffalo Bulls and the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Power 5 conferences discuss postponing football

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Presidents of Big Ten universities are ready to “pull the plug” on the fall sports season, leading to a conference call between Power 5 commissioners to discuss the possibility of not playing football in the fall, ESPN reported Sunday.

What’s more, ESPN is reporting that numerous sources have come to believe over the last 48 hours that postponing or canceling the football season seems inevitable, but that a Power 5 league would need to act in order to get the others to follow.

“Nobody wanted to be the first to do it,” a Power 5 coach told ESPN, “and now nobody will want to be the last.”

According to the report, the Big Ten presidents met Saturday to discuss the status of a fall sports season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and came away wanting to know if other commissioners and presidents from the other Power 5 conferences would agree to postponing football with the hopes of playing the sports in the spring.

That led to the Sunday call among all five conferences. Following the call, one Power 5 athletic director told ESPN, “It doesn’t look good.”

ESPN reported that presidents and chancellors of Pac-12 institutions are scheduled to meet Tuesday.

As for the ACC, Big 12 and SEC, those conferences had wanted to assess the situation after students returned to campuses this month, but ESPN stated that any postponements by the Pac-12 or Big Ten may force their hand.

The Mid-American Conference on Saturday voted to postpone fall sports, making it the first FBS conference to postpone football. The MAC is hoping to play in the spring instead.

–Field Level Media