NCAA President Charlie Baker joined the Triple Option podcast. Addressing the challenges currently facing college football, Baker talked about plans to address the NIL chaos.

Speaking to former head coach Urban Meyer, Charlie Baker said the situation largely depends on “how the membership wants to handle the issue.”

Baker then pointed to the NCAA’s NIL-related lawsuit settlements and the House settlement, explaining that those developments opened the door for schools to directly share revenue with student-athletes.

Baker said that NIL regulation shifted after recent lawsuits and the creation of the House settlement framework. He outlined that enforcement authority now lies with a newly formed College Sports Commission.

This is governed by the four power conferences, which oversee revenue sharing, roster caps, and third-party NIL deals.

Baker also expressed support for a more transparent and legitimate system surrounding athlete compensation and NIL regulation.

Baker Talks About NCAA's New Rules

Last month, in April, Charlie Baker sent a memo to NCAA member schools. While Congress continues discussing federal legislation around college sports, Baker had this to say.

"NCAA membership is not waiting for others to act," said Baker, in a statement by The Athletic.

The landscape of college athletics is shifting as schools move toward direct compensation models. Athletes are now receiving direct compensation from their schools and from third parties for their names, images, and likenesses.

This has made the NCAA very proactive in dealing with other issues. In the past few months, the Division I Cabinet also discussed age-based eligibility standards.

Speaking to The Athletic, Baker credited the streamlining of Division I governance, which focuses on fewer and smaller committees and allows for a more nimble and efficient legislative process.

"We believe that the proposals we’ve made are consistent with current law,” Baker said.

There was a list of rules put into place by the cabinet concerning eligibility before enrollment. Among the proposed rules, there was one that deemed any athlete ineligible who had made himself available for the professional draft.

That also included provisions to ensure that no "ghost transfers" took place, which would disqualify them from playing. The penalties included suspensions and fines totaling 20% of their program's budget.

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Written by

Sourav Ganguly

Edited by

Rudra Dubey