Report: House settlement opt-in date for D1 schools moved to June 30

The deadline for Division I schools outside the Power conferences to officially opt into the recently-approved House v. NCAA settlement has been moved from Sunday, June 15 to June 30, according to Yahoo! Sports insider Ross Dellenger. A formal announcement is expected later Wednesday.

All programs that have already opted in or those associated with the defendant Power Five conferences involved in the House v. NCAA class-action case can begin utilizing revenue-sharing beginning July 1.

The change in date is understandable given the nearly month-long delay in Judge Claudia Wilken‘s decision, which came late Friday night, just nine days before the previously-scheduled opt-in June 15 deadline. Schools apart of the five defendant conferences are already opted-in as part of the settlement agreement, but non-Power Five programs now have two more weeks to evaluate their options.

Non-defendant Division I schools raise concerns about new College Sports Commission

Non-defendant Division I schools have expressed concern about the potential tight turnaround between approval of the settlement and the original June 15 opt-in date. They have also raised issue with the lack of transparency from the Power conferences regarding the specific details around the application of the College Sports Commission, the newly-created enforcement model meant to implement the settlement’s terms and regulate revenue-sharing, third-party NIL deals and roster limits.

By opting-in, non-defendant Division I schools would have to sign yet-to-be-finalized contracts or “participation agreements” that legally-bind them to comply with the terms of the House settlement and not seek legal action against the College Sports Commission’s rules and decisions. Given that few if any of the non-defendant Division I schools have even seen the “participation agreement,” this two-week delay allows the Commission to finalize the language in the agreement before schools must sign it.

Along with regulating NIL deals, the CSC will help schools properly implement revenue-sharing. Beginning July 1, Power conference schools — and non-Power conference programs that opted into the settlement by the end of June — 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 Four football programs are expected to have an additional $13-16 million to spend on rosters beginning with the 2025 season, according to On3’s Pete 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 were not vetted by the newly-formed Deloitte clearinghouse NIL Go.

— On3’s Pete Nakos contributed to this report.