In just the last week, Miami basketball star Isaiah Wong provided an ultimatum of a transfer after demanding more NIL compensation, and there are now reports of a multi-million dollar bidding war for Pittsburgh star wide receiver Jordan Addison.
These two situations are just the two most recent reasons why the NCAA needs to step in before college athletics reenters the “meat market” of the 1980s or becomes an all-out professional sport free agency,
With that said, CBS Sports reported on Wednesday morning, that the NCAA does plan to step in and fight against the boosters and the “pay for play” dynamic that has entered college athletics.
“How are they having conversations [with athletes]? They’re boosters. We’ve never let boosters be involved in the recruiting process. Where did it go off the tracks? … The collectives are boosters,” said NCAA Council chairman and West Virginia Athletic Director Shane Lyons.
In response to Lyons, I would hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is not the first time in college sports that boosters have been involved in the recruiting process, and there is no way to eliminate them completely.
Back to Lyons’ comments, he mentioned “collectives”. Following the debut of NIL on July 1, 2021, many of the biggest donors in college sports came together to form these “collectives”, which allows them to pool their money and provide a substantial, and as of now unchecked, amount of NIL benefits.
Ironically enough, Lyons’ West Virginia athletic department is benefitting from the Country Roads Trust, a collective run by former Mountaineers AD Oliver Luck and Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick.
One of the most prominent boosters and members of a collective, is Miami’s John Ruiz, a billionaire alum of the university. According to the Miami Herald, Ruiz has set aside $10 million himself to compensate student-athletes and has already signed more than 110 to promote two of his companies, LifeWallet and Cigarette Racing.
Ruiz told CBS Sports that he believes he is inside the current rules, even claiming that his collective is more compliant than the NCAA itself. “My platform is very consistent with all the rules with NCAA and state law. We probably have a more robust compliance system than the schools or the NCAA itself. I’m extremely comfortable. This is totally kosher. We have legitimate companies,” Ruiz said.
Unfortunately, Ruiz isn’t wrong. While NCAA rules state that boosters are not allowed to pay players directly or be part of a university’s recruiting process, the majority of these collectives are spearheaded by intelligent people that are skirting vague NCAA guidelines, with many protected by state laws, and in some areas with legislation being created to empower such behavior.
As for when you can expect to see the NCAA’s response, Lyons told CBS Sports, “I think you’ll see something in the coming weeks that in short order is going to provide some of that message to the membership. ‘Here’s the guidance [for NIL].’”
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