Report: NCAA to cede enforcement to new organization if House settlement receives approval

With a decision expected in the near future, college athletics continues to prepare for the House v. NCAA settlement. If Judge Claudia Wilken gives final approval, it would also lead to major changes in enforcement.

The NCAA would no longer be in charge of enforcement, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported. Instead, a CEO of a new enforcement organization, the College Sports Commission, would be in charge of handing out punishments and deciding on whether rules have been violated.

The new CEO is expected to be from outside college athletics, according to ESPN. The expectation is that a hire would come soon after the House v. NCAA settlement is finalized.

Yahoo Sports reported the potential for enforcement changes in February as the House settlement approval process continued. ESPN added that a board is expected to be in place to which the CEO will report.

“All the institutions are going to have new membership agreements that we’re all agreeing to these new rules,” an industry source told ESPN. “The CEO is going to have responsibility to make sure everything is enforced and the governance model is sound. It’s a critically important role for the future of college sports and college football.”

Documents obtained by ESPN, though still in the draft stage, show schools would have to accept rulings from the CEO “as final” unless they want to challenge and head to an arbitration process. Cases that go to arbitration would also have the option of subpoena power via the discovery process, which wasn’t available during the NCAA’s investigations.

Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger also reported the Power Conferences drafted a contract that would bind schools to new enforcement rules while also waiving the right to sue over decisions. If they don’t sign, eviction could be an option, according to the report. The “Affiliation” or “Membership Agreement” is directly tied to the new enforcement organization and is meant to be signed by all Power Conference schools and others that opt into the House settlement.

Where the House v. NCAA settlement stands

The expectation is that a decision will come on the House v. NCAA settlement in the near future after Wilken sent both the plaintiffs and defendants back to the drawing board regarding concerns she had about roster limits. During the final approval hearing last month, she raised the idea of “grandfathering” spots for athletes currently on rosters and encouraged the idea in an updated brief.

However, attorneys cited potential disruptions as reasons they did not include it after the hearing concluded. Wilken then said she would deny final approval if they didn’t come up with a solution within two weeks – a May 7 deadline, which attorneys met by making it discretionary to the schools whether they want to allow grandfathered roster spots.

Objections and responses were due last week. Now, the decision is in Wilken’s hands, and the college sports world once again turns its attention to the West Coast for a ruling on the landmark settlement.