mthoopsfan
Well-known member
"On Wednesday, the Division I Cabinet, which governs the top tier of college sports, received a report on a series of rule changes. They include one that would allow prospects to accept all prize money earned in their respective sports before they enroll in college.
Currently, prospects can accept prize money only up to actual and necessary expenses, except in tennis, which permits up to $10,000 in prize money. Pre-enrollment, any prize money above $10,000 must be used as expenses on the tournament in which it was earned; post-enrollment, prize money is attributed to annual expenses.
According to the person briefed on the case, the settlement will end prohibitions on pre-enrollment income and create a $2 million fund for athletes who have been affected by the existing rule in recent years, if they can prove they qualify. The settlement will also allow tennis players who have forfeited prize money while enrolled since 2020 to apply for reimbursement.
“These proposed changes reflect ongoing work by Division I members to modernize our rules to align with the current era of college sports,” Josh Whitman, chair of the Division I Cabinet and the athletic director at the University of Illinois, said in a statement Wednesday.
“As Division I members proceed with reviewing all eligibility rules in the months ahead, our focus will be establishing rules that have objective criteria that can be consistently applied for both prospects and current student-athletes.”
That rule change is a central tenet of the pending settlement in Brantmeier and Joint’s lawsuit, which Brantmeier filed in a U.S. District Court of North Carolina in 2024. Joint, who represents Australia as a professional but grew up in Michigan and attended the University of Texas, joined as a named plaintiff last year. They will receive a $10,000 payment as part of the settlement, and the NCAA will pay $1.85 million in legal fees and $425,000 in expenses.
Critics of the prize-money rules have argued that they are hypocritical in an era when college athletes, especially football or basketball players, receive multi-million-dollar deals to compete for college teams, as well as for commercial sponsorships.
As they stand, a prized college quarterback can receive millions for playing on a college football team and for showing up at a local car dealership to sign autographs, but college tennis players can’t accept more than their expenses if they are good enough to play Wimbledon, one of the four Grand Slams.
The rule change regarding pre-enrollment earnings is part of a package that includes a new rule requiring prospects to withdraw from professional league drafts, including the NBA, if they have previously opted in. The package would also allow prospects to sign with agents to handle contractual negotiations, whereas under current rules, they are only permitted to do so for name, image and likeness purposes.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7169685/2026/04/03/ncaa-prize-money-lawsuit-college-tennis/
Currently, prospects can accept prize money only up to actual and necessary expenses, except in tennis, which permits up to $10,000 in prize money. Pre-enrollment, any prize money above $10,000 must be used as expenses on the tournament in which it was earned; post-enrollment, prize money is attributed to annual expenses.
According to the person briefed on the case, the settlement will end prohibitions on pre-enrollment income and create a $2 million fund for athletes who have been affected by the existing rule in recent years, if they can prove they qualify. The settlement will also allow tennis players who have forfeited prize money while enrolled since 2020 to apply for reimbursement.
“These proposed changes reflect ongoing work by Division I members to modernize our rules to align with the current era of college sports,” Josh Whitman, chair of the Division I Cabinet and the athletic director at the University of Illinois, said in a statement Wednesday.
“As Division I members proceed with reviewing all eligibility rules in the months ahead, our focus will be establishing rules that have objective criteria that can be consistently applied for both prospects and current student-athletes.”
That rule change is a central tenet of the pending settlement in Brantmeier and Joint’s lawsuit, which Brantmeier filed in a U.S. District Court of North Carolina in 2024. Joint, who represents Australia as a professional but grew up in Michigan and attended the University of Texas, joined as a named plaintiff last year. They will receive a $10,000 payment as part of the settlement, and the NCAA will pay $1.85 million in legal fees and $425,000 in expenses.
Critics of the prize-money rules have argued that they are hypocritical in an era when college athletes, especially football or basketball players, receive multi-million-dollar deals to compete for college teams, as well as for commercial sponsorships.
As they stand, a prized college quarterback can receive millions for playing on a college football team and for showing up at a local car dealership to sign autographs, but college tennis players can’t accept more than their expenses if they are good enough to play Wimbledon, one of the four Grand Slams.
The rule change regarding pre-enrollment earnings is part of a package that includes a new rule requiring prospects to withdraw from professional league drafts, including the NBA, if they have previously opted in. The package would also allow prospects to sign with agents to handle contractual negotiations, whereas under current rules, they are only permitted to do so for name, image and likeness purposes.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7169685/2026/04/03/ncaa-prize-money-lawsuit-college-tennis/
