The NCAA seems to be in turmoil.
It is never a good sign when leaders of an industry are begging Congress to help their business. But that is what is going on with the National Collegiate Athletic Association as people in the industry are looking to members of the House of Representatives and the Senate to create a law that will control the money that can be offered to college players. NCAA industry leaders would like to get boosters out of the way as boosters can find a way to pay athletes big money and possibly upset competitive balance in football and basketball. The worry is competitive balance.
Meanwhile, one member of the Senate is extremely happy that the NCAA President Dr. Mark Emmert is leaving his post by July 1st, 2023. “For far too long, the NCAA has refused to allow student-athletes to benefit from the use of their name, image, likeness [NIL]” Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, told Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger. “NCAA President Mark Emmert’s resignation is one of many necessary structural changes that will enable the NCAA to support our student-athletes. During my meeting with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and others, I continued to push for the accountability and fairness measures our student-athletes deserve.” Dr. Emmert and NCAA industry leaders have been asking federal lawmakers to get involved in the business side of college athletics. They are concerned with players being able to profit off of their popularity and how much money they are making. But individual states have started to pass their own laws governing NIL over the last year. All of this is forcing the NCAA to come up with solutions to counteract state legislators. The NCAA would like to bypass the states and get the federal lawmakers involved and give them a solution. The NCAA remains in turmoil.
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