By Nancy Zimpher and Jonathan Mariner Published in MarketWatch, August 11, 2020. While millions of fans are lamenting the looming disappearance of college sports this fall, the coronavirus pandemic is also exposing financial fault lines and a broken governance model that may trigger an opportunity to irrevocably transform big-dollar college athletic programs. COVID-19 has cast…
The Knight Commission appreciates the gravity, urgency and uncertainty of decisions about how to reopen college sports, and recognizes that reopening college sports programs is an important leading indicator of the broader national crisis gripping higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The decisions that college leaders make about whether to bring athletes back to campus and engage in training and competition should not be made in isolation but rather should go hand in hand with decisions about returning other students to dorms, classrooms and dining halls. Maintaining the safety and health of college athletes is just as vital as maintaining the safety and health of all students, faculty, staff and university administrators.
On June 4, 2020, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics held a webinar to assess the NCAA’s proposal allowing college athletes to earn money for the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL) and to evaluate key differences with recommendations made by other groups. The session focused on issues such as compliance with fair market value, the confusion around group endorsement opportunities and ways to achieve uniformity, either through Congress or the Uniform Law Commission. The expert panel included Congressman Anthony Gonzalez, who is working on an NIL bill, Val Ackerman, Gabe Feldman and Tom McMillen.
The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics Co-Chairs Arne Duncan and Carol Cartwright wrote a letter to NCAA President Mark Emmert offering support, and some specific recommendations, as Emmert and the Division I governance groups work to adapt NCAA policies to the financial crisis spawned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Knight Commission Proposes Principles to Guide New Name, Image and Likeness Rules for College Athletes; Letter to Dr. Mark Emmert, NCAA President, from the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics Co-Chairs; Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics Principles for New Rules on the Use of College Athletes’ Name, Image and Likeness; Examples Applying Knight Commission Principles to NIL Opportunities for College Athletes; History of Knight Commission Work on Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) Models and Issues
The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics released a set of principles today to guide the development of new policies allowing college athletes to earn compensation for the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL) from sources other than their institutions.
The Future of College Sports Panel Video at the 13th Annual GEMALaw Sports & Entertainment Law Symposium at Georgetown Law Center on January 31, 2020.
For Public Release Dec. 16, 2019 Media Inquiries: Fred Frommer fred.frommer@deweysquare.com; 202.744.9273 The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, a leading voice for college sports reform, informed NCAA President Mark Emmert today that it will examine new models to restructure college sports, citing the challenges created by the “highly commercialized environment” for Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)…
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…
Session 1: A year of change in college basketball: A report on actions and plans to address remaining challenges Mike Brey, head men’s basketball coach, University of Notre Dame; president, Board of Directors, National Association of Basketball Coaches Dan Gavitt, senior vice president of basketball, NCAA Kevin Lennon, vice president for Division I governance, NCAA…