The NCAA has been fighting to maintain its amateurism business model for about a century. Today, it was struck a near-fatal blow to that. We will let the legal scholars and experts tell you what it all means specifically, but the gist of it is that the 9-0 ruling against the NCAA really obliterated its main rationale for much of its rule-making.
Officially, the NCAA restrictions can still be challenged but it seems like it would behoove the organization to move forward. They are playing from a position of weakness in light of these changes — the recent communications from the council suggest they are trying to get ahead of the inevitable rules changes coming from various states. The idea is to preserve whatever control the organization can, before legislation and court rulings enforce it upon them.
For Conference USA, it means there is opportunity for its member institutions to get ahead and get some first-mover advantages. The bigger programs with more marketing power will eventually figure out how to best use that power to entice athletes but for now there is a chance to get in and make a splash.
Be First to Comment