NCAA

Aldrich Amended Complaint Could Force NCAA to Actually Fulfill Its Purported Duties

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear who the real governing bodies in college athletics are. Despite how much the NCAA pretends to have overarching, sweeping, oversight of every member nationwide when it comes to athlete-employees being compensated for their labor, it’s the athletic conferences that NCAA-member institutions belong to, not the NCAA, that really runs college athletics.

Baylor’s Suspension of 14 Baseball Players is College Sports’ ‘Stranger Thing’

In the hit Netflix series, “Stranger Things”, there is an alternate dimension called the “Upside Down.” It’s a close copy of our known plane of reality but completely inhospitable for our species. In a similar way, NCAA-member institutions’ priorities have turned completely upside down. Baylor University’s handling of hazing by members of its baseball team is proof of such reversal.

Last Friday, Baylor announced it suspended 14 members of the team as a result of an internal investigation into a hazing incident that occurred about a year ago.

Breaking Down the NCAA’s Latest Stall Tactic for Athlete Compensation

In September of this year, California enacted a law that would allow college athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness (NIL) beginning in 2023. The NCAA vehemently opposed this law and even threatened that any California schools that allowed their student athletes to profit off their NIL would be in violation of NCAA rules and therefore unable to compete against NCAA teams.

Colorado’s NIL Law is the Epitome of Political Grandstanding

With little fanfare because of the coronavirus pandemic, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed SB20-123 into law on Friday, March 20. It is not only ineffective in regards to its stated intent but codifies into state law that athletes at Colo.’s colleges and universities are second-class citizens in comparison with other employees and students at the same institutions.

Giuliana Mendiola’s Discrimination Complaint Demonstrates College Athletics’ Askew Priorities

Giuliana Mendiola alleges she and members of the women’s basketball team at the University of California-Riverside endured abuse and misogyny for years at the hand of the man entrusted to instead create an atmosphere where they all could develop their skills relevant to the sport..

Mitchell vs. Baylor Highlights Lack of Care for Neurological Issues in Women’s Soccer

A new lawsuit in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas alleges that former Baylor women’s soccer head coach Paul Jobson forced players to go through repeated header drills using a ball machine and as a result of that abuse the plaintiff, Eva Mitchell, has suffered brain injuries traumatic enough that for the past 18 months she has been unable to function independently.

Nebraska Senator Megan Hunt Calls Upon Experience In Fighting For College Athletes’ Rights

Megan Hunt is a first in several ways. She is not only the first woman to represent her district in Nebraska’s unicameral legislature but the first member of the Nebraska Senate from any district who is also openly bisexual. The 33-year-old Democrat is also about to become the first Nebraska Senator to propose a bill that would allow college athletes in the state to profit off their names, images and likenesses without it affecting their eligibility to participate in NCAA athletics.

Rutgers’ Choice of Firm to Conduct Review of Softball Program Raises Questions

On Tuesday, Rutgers University announced the findings of an independent review of its softball program. While the report largely substantiated the allegations against head coach Kristen Butler and members of her staff by several athletes, it did not recommend the Scarlett Knights athletic department take any disciplinary action against Butler or any of her staff.

The NCAA Board of Governors’ Recommendations For NIL Rules Are Nothing But A Political Ploy

The NCAA’s Board of Governors made a public appeal to the Congress of the United States of America on Wednesday, April 29. It was veiled as a recommendation of guidelines for its three levels to form rules regarding how athletes at member institutions can receive compensation from third parties for the usage of their images, likenesses and names without negatively affecting their eligibility to play their sports. Even the most cursory review of the Board’s report reveals that veiling to be of the thinnest quality, however.

What College Athletes Need to Know About Seeking Legal Aid

Athletes are some of the most prized students at colleges across America. After all, they’re tasked with the difficult job of representing their school, while trying to take their own athletic careers to the next level. However, this also means that athletes often have to tiptoe around the various rules and regulations that are currently in play.

What H.R. 5528 Actually Would – And Wouldn’t – Do If It Becomes Law

Unfortunately, there has been some bad reporting on a recently introduced bill in the US House of Representatives, H.R. 5528. Contrary to the insinuations of poorly written headlines, the bill would not place a cap on compensation for coaches at NCAA-member universities or establish a limited exemption to federal antitrust laws for the NCAA. Framing the bill as such is not only false but diminishes the real power that the bill would grant. It’s even more potent than the bad reporting suggests.

What the Aspen’s Insitute’s Panel on NIL Legislation and a 1974 Chart-Topper by America Have in Common

On Tuesday, Dec. 17, some of the most notable voices in college athletics came together to discuss NIL legislation at the Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C. The whole conversation misses the mark in a big way, however, that is perhaps prophetically interpreted by the band America in their 1974 hit, “Tin …

SB 206 Would Benefit More Athletes Than the Narrative Indicates

Somehow the narrative around SB 206, and athlete rights to the name, image, and likeness of their birthright—a right that every other American citizen takes for granted is being distorted in the media–both as to what it is and the number of athletes it would benefit.

Easley and Finnerty may blow wide open the ‘dam’ that Ploetz ‘cracked’

The legacy of Ploetz v. NCAA is playing out in two similar trials, both with very similar claims. If as successful as Ploetz was, the consequences for the NCAA along with its member conferences/institutions could be serious.

Irv Eatman: It’s All About the Student-Athlete. Or is it?

It has been over four decades since I entered college at UCLA. I really enjoyed being a student/ athlete but I would be lying if I said there were not times when it was very difficult. Trying to balance school, practice, travel, games and yes socializing was not easy. Fast forward to present day and as the father of a soon to be student/ athlete, things have not gotten any easier.

The business of college football has produced its own version of human trafficking

An Interview with Robert Green October 22, 2017
Derek Helling Every year, the passage of another college football season spans from August through January, and the economic machine keeps thousands of people in industries from foodservice to retail apparel busy. As with most businesses of this scale, there are stories …

Why are we still treating college athletes as less than human?

In 1857, the Supreme Court of the United States of America acted as the mouthpiece of a society which clammored for the reinforcement of economic traditions along with class and race barriers. In 2018, the NCAA fills much of the same role in its adjudication of similar duties. With the convictions of Christian Dawkins, James Gatto and Merl Code Jr. on the charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud in a Manhattan federal court in late October

The Pullman labor battles of 1890s live on in college athletics today

The phrase, “those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it” has become cliché and that unfortunately means it has lost much of its meaning. Considering the status quo involving NCAA athletes who play revenue sports, it’s unfortunate how little society learned from a similar situation in the 1890s which historians refer to as the Pullman strike.

As March ends, the ‘madness’ in D1 basketball continues

A new NCAA D1 men’s basketball champion will be celebrated on Tuesday, April 3 and going forward throughout the year, but it’s not difficult to look around and see outside of the cavalcade of names on championship banners from year to year, not much else has changed in the game. A recent study by Jason Belzer and Eli Boettger for Athletic Director U highlights the fact that the industry of coaching collegiate basketball is still stuck in the mid-20th century. The study claims to reveal discrimination in the coaching ranks that is not only prevalent but institutionalized.

Loss of value insurance programs progressing but work remains

As the prevalence of loss of value insurance policies among NFL prospects who are preparing for a career as a professional athlete in the NCAA ranks grows, the current state of the industry appears to be trending upward while some issues are still lingering.