The Ivy League will opt out of a pending NCAA settlement set to provide direct compensation to former and current college athletes, according to an email sent to Ivy League student-athletes on Jan. 21.
The email, sent by Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris, states that the conference will not participate in the $2.8 billion settlement and that its athletic programs “will continue to not provide student-athletes with revenue sharing allocations, athletics scholarships, or direct [name, image, and likeness] payments.” The decision was made by the Ivy League Council of Presidents under recommendation from the Ivy League Athletics Directors and Policy Committee.
In a written statement to the Daily Pennsylvanian, Harris said, "The Ivy League remains committed to its foundational principles and longstanding rules that intentionally foster student participation in intercollegiate athletics as an important aspect of a holistic education."
"Ivy League institutions will continue to offer an experience that resonates with student-athletes, and we firmly believe the League will continue to thrive competitively as one of the top five athletics conferences across all of Division I." added Harris.
Requests for comment were left with Penn Athletics.
This decision will not impact student-athletes’ ability to secure “legitimate NIL-related payments,” per the announcement, and comes days after the United States Department of Education declared that future NIL payments payed directly from universities should count as “athletic financial assistance” under Title IX — and thus should be distributed equally between men’s and women’s programs.
On top of payouts to current and former athletes, the settlement, which will have a final hearing for approval on April 7, will establish a 10-year revenue-sharing model allowing NCAA conferences and their member schools to share 22% of their annual revenue with student-athletes. The Power Four NCAA conferences — the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big Ten, the Big 12, and the Southeastern Conference — along with the Pac-12 conference, who are the defendants in the settlement, have agreed to this model.
According to the email to athletes, the Ivy League is set to maintain its longstanding rules — including prohibiting any form of compensation for participation in athletics — and will “continue to provide an educational intercollegiate athletics model that is focused on academic primacy and the overall student-athlete experience.”
The announcement details how the Ivy League’s membership in Division I and access to NCAA championships are not affected by this decision and that Ivy League athletic rosters will still not be subject to roster limits imposed by the NCAA.
Despite not opting into the settlement deal, the Ivy League will still be subject to the “clearinghouse” terms of the settlement coordinated by the five defendant conferences. These terms will require all Division I student-athletes receiving NIL payments over $600 to disclose deals with a third-party “clearinghouse” with the ability to block NIL payments that they believe to be “pay-for-play” alternatives.
The Ivy League affirmed that current conference rules will remain in effect unless otherwise announced or modified.
Under the terms of the settlement, each non-defendant conference/institution, including the Ivy League, may independently decide whether or not to opt into providing or facilitating the payments or benefits permitted under the terms of the settlement.
The settlement received preliminary judicial approval on Oct. 18, making any Division I players who participated in NCAA-sanctioned athletics since 2016 eligible to apply for payments. The settlement was in response to three separate antitrust lawsuits filed against the NCAA in which plaintiffs argued that college athletes are entitled to profit off of their participation in their respective college athletics programs.
If approved, NCAA rules changes for non-Ivy institutions that opt into the settlement will go into effect by the beginning of the 2025-26 academic year.
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