NCAA freezing investigations into third-party NIL activities
The NCAA will freeze any investigations into third-party participation in activities related to name, image and likeness in the wake of a preliminary injunction recently filed in federal court, association president Charlie Baker said in an open letter to member institutions.
Under this pause, “there will be no penalty for conduct that occurs consistent with the injunction while the injunction is in place,” Baker wrote Friday.
“I agree with this decision, while the progress toward longterm solutions is underway and while we await discussions with the attorneys general,” he continued. “In circumstances that are less than ideal, this at least gives the membership notice of the board’s direction related to enforcement.”
In the injunction issued last month, a federal judge based in Tennessee ruled the NCAA could not prohibit third-party involvement into a prospective student-athlete’s recruitment without potentially violating antitrust laws.
The attorneys general for Tennessee and Virginia had filed the federal suit in late January in the wake of an NCAA investigation into Tennessee’s athletic department and a Knoxville-based NIL collective known as The Volunteer Club.
The order filed by the judge, Clifton Corker, did uphold three policies related to NIL that will continue to be enforced by the NCAA enforcement staff, Baker said: a prohibition on direct pay or inducement for athletic performance; a prohibition on NIL payments directly from the institution; and a quid pro quo element that would require a student-athlete perform a direct action, such as social media post, in return for compensation.
“I realize pausing NIL-related enforcement while these other bylaws are upheld by the injunction will raise significant questions on campuses. This is precisely why a (Division I) meeting room, not a courtroom, is the best place to change NCAA policy,” Baker wrote.
“The council introduced a proposal in January intended to clarify the role of schools in NIL matters. That proposal will be on the council and board agendas this April.”