The following provides links to papers and videos from prior Knight Commission meetings where potential changes of NCAA rules regarding the use of student-athletes names, images and likenesses (NIL) were considered. These discussions preceded the passage of California’s SB 206 in September 2019 that will allow student-athletes at California universities to be compensated for the use of their names, images and likenesses starting on January 1, 2023. In October 2019, the NCAA Board of Governors voted unanimously “to permit students participating in athletics the opportunity to benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness” in a manner consistent with the collegiate model. The legislative changes that will enable such an outcome will be developed and considered in 2020.
The information below provides some highlights of the Knight Commission’s involvement in this issue over the past decade. This information is helpful to understanding the history of this issue, potential new models and potential unintended consequences such new models might create.
- April 6, 2020: Letter to NCAA President Mark Emmert Recommending Guiding Principles for New Rules on the Use of College Athletes’ Name, Image and Likeness
- Jan. 31, 2020 (Video of Expert Panel Discussion): Knight Commission sponsored-panel — The Future of College Sports: Game Plan for College Athletes to Receive Endorsement Pay — at the 13th Annual GEMALaw Sports & Entertainment Law Symposium at Georgetown Law Center
- May 24, 2019 (Video of Expert Panel Discussion): Hot topics impacting NCAA basketball (including NCAA player endorsement restrictions)
- May 10, 2016 (Video of Expert Panel Discussion): Examining NCAA amateurism issues and the continuing debate over the use of college athletes’ names, images and likenesses (below):
- May 2016 (Commissioned Paper): Feldman, G. The NCAA and “Non-Game Related” Student-Athlete Name, Image and Likeness Restrictions
- October 27, 2008 (Press Release): Knight Commission Criticizes Commercialization of College Athletes in Fantasy Sports, New Media