Report: Women's sports athletes to file appeal on House vs. NCAA settlement citing Title IX violations

It was only a matter of time. Five days after California district judge Claudia Wilken‘s Friday night approval of the landmark House v. NCAA settlement, a group of women’s sports representatives have filed an appeal citing Title IX violations, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. Front Office Sports insider Amanda Christovich first reported the group’s intent to appeal earlier Wednesday.

BREAKING: A group of women’s sports athletes will file an appeal of the House v. NCAA settlement approval, arguing that it violates the Title IX gender equity statute, @FOS has learned. Story to come.

— Amanda Christovich (@achristovichh) June 11, 2025

The group of women’s sports athletes are arguing the House settlement — which officially ended college sports’ long-standing “amateurism” model and ushered in revenue-sharing that allows Division I schools to provide direct financial payments to student-athletes — violates the Title IX gender equality statute since it doesn’t include any language that directly addresses Title IX.

“The House Settlement allocates $2.4 billion to men and only $102 million to women,” objecting attorney Leigh Ernst Friestedt told CBS Sports. “This significant dispartity constitutes a violation of Title IX.”

The appeal, which named eight objectors — Vanderbilt cross country runner Kacie Breeding; former or current College of Charleston soccer players Elizabeth Arnold, Savannah Baron, Lexi Drumm, Riley Hass and Emmie Wannemacher; College of Charleston volleyball player Emma Appleman; and Virginia volleyball player Kate Johnson — was filed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, according to the filing.

Title IX appeal delays planned $2.8 billion in back damage payment proccess

The Title IX appeal will not impact future revenue-sharing plans, but could delay the $2.8 billion back damage payment process for college athletes from 2016-24 that opted in to the settlement.

Instead of facing $20 billion in back damages, the NCAA and Power Five conference defendants signed off on a 10-year settlement agreement that includes $2.776 billion in back damages. The NCAA is responsible for paying the amount over the next decade, approximately $277 million annually. Roughly 60% will come from a reduction in annual distribution to institutions, including from all non-defendant schools that opt into the settlement. The NCAA is tasked with closing the other 40%, which will come through reducing operating expenses.

The settlement also imposes new restrictions on college sports. Deloitte’s NIL clearinghouse, titled “NIL Go,” will now regulate all third-party NIL deals of $600. If not approved, the settlement says a new third-party arbiter could deem athletes ineligible or result in a school being fined. In a gathering at the ACC spring meetings last week, Deloitte officials reportedly shared that 70% of past deals from NIL collectives would have been denied, while 90% of past deals from public companies would have been approved.

Beginning July 1, Power conference schools — and non-Power conference programs that opt into the settlement by June 30 — will be able to share as much as $20.5 million with athletes, with football expected to receive approximately 75%, followed by men’s basketball (15%), women’s basketball (5%) and the remainder of sports (5%). The amount shared in revenue will increase annually.

Power conference football programs are expected to have an additional $13-16 million to spend on rosters beginning with the 2025 season, according to Nakos. Many schools have front-loaded contracts ahead of the settlement’s approval, allowing them to skirt the new rules and take advantage of contracts not vetted by Deloitte clearinghouse NIL Go before June 7.

— On3’s Pete Nakos contributed to this report.