NCAA pauses probes, penalties pertaining to NIL pacts
After another courtroom loss, the NCAA told enforcement staff to halt investigations into booster-backed collectives or other third parties making name, image and likeness deals with Division I athletes.
In a letter to member schools Friday, NCAA President Charlie Baker said the the Division I board of directors directed enforcement staff “to pause and not begin investigations involving third-party participation in NIL-related activities.”
The move comes a week after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought by the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia. The antitrust suit challenges NCAA rules against recruiting inducements, saying they inhibit athletes’ ability to cash in on their celebrity and fame.
“There will be no penalty for conduct that occurs consistent with the injunction while the injunction is in place,” Baker wrote.
The NCAA is considering allowing football coaches to have in-game communication with one player on offense and one on defense, part of rules proposals that seek to make the college game more like the NFL.
Old Dominion hired former Monarchs player and Maryland assistant Mike Jones as men’s basketball coach . ... In Thursday’s late games, Chrishawn Christmas’ layin off a missed shot with 2.1 seconds left lifted Stephen F. Austin over California Baptist, 62-60 in overtime; No. 17 Saint Mary’s beat Pepperdine 83-57 to win the West Coast Conference championship; Dominic Brewton scored 26 points as Cal State Fullerton beat Long Beach State 76-71; Bent Leuchten had 16 points in UC Irvine’s 89-64 victory over Cal State Northridge.