The $2.8 billionΒ NCAA settlementΒ awaiting final approval from a federal judge is touted as a solution for thousands of athletes to finally get the money they deserve and provide some clarity to recruiting. For some, it may have come too late.
Sophomore distance runner Jake Rimmel says he was one of five walk-ons cut from Virginia Techβs cross country team after Thanksgiving break. Rimmel decided to take a leave of absence and train independently while considering his next move β something thatβs proven easier said than done.
βEveryoneβs got their hands tied right now, so thereβs just not many opportunities for me,β Rimmel told The Associated Press. βIβve just been having to bet on myself and trust the process. Itβs just been lonely. Iβve been at home training by myself and living with my family again. Thank God for my family and all, I appreciate them. Itβs still kind of lonely though, being out of the norm, not being at school and with my friends.”
Pending approval, the so-called House settlement will allow schools to share revenue with athletes directly for use of their name, image and likeness (NIL). That could secure generational wealth for some but not others, and replacing scholarship caps with roster limitations is expected to leave walk-ons, partial scholarship earners,Β nonrevenue sport athletesΒ and high school recruits at risk. There are deep concerns about the potential impact onΒ sports that feed the U.S. OlympicΒ teams.
U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken told attorneys handling the settlement to come back to herΒ with a plan soon to protect athletesΒ currently or recently on rosters at schools across the country, a request seen as a way to soften the blow.
That filing came late Wednesday, with attorneys saying schools must offer athletes who lost their spotsΒ a chance to playΒ β at their old school or their new school β without counting against the roster limits for as long as they have eligibility.
There is no guarantee those athletes will win a spot on the roster and, for now, thousands of athletes like Rimmel have no idea where they might be this fall or are in jeopardy of no longer playing college sports at all. And many athletes balancing school and their sport are unaware of whatβs at stake and have more questions than answers.
Belmont track and field athlete Sabrina Oostburg said everything she knows about the settlement is from personal research.
βMy school doesnβt do a lot of education around it (the settlement). Every now and then, weβll be told, βHey, if you want to sign up to potentially get some money from this House settlement thatβs happening, you can do that,ββ Oostburg said. βItβs almost like the education weβre being given is optional to consume, even though itβs limited.β
Oostburg is used to taking matters into her own hands, securing over 50 NIL deals by herself. She has contacted lawyers and asked for updates on the settlement, but sheβs not quite reassured. The chaotic nature of college athletics, so obvious to the public, is even worse for the athletes themselves.
βBeing a college athlete, itβs so hard to stay up to date with whatβs happening every day because itβs so constantly changing,β she said.
Smaller, nonrevenue-generating programs donβt often have a point person to navigate NIL deals or educate athletes. At Belmont, Oostburg said, NIL-related responsibilities are managed by an already busy compliance office.
βTo take time to learn about whatβs happening is just so time-consuming, especially if youβre not in that one percent or one of the football players where they have people dedicated to helping them stay up to date,β she said.
Over the next six weeks, athletes will wrap up their spring semesters and many of them have league tournaments or even NCAA championship competition ahead before what many expect will be the final summer before college sports sees some of the most dramatic changes in history.
For athletes like Rimmel, those changes are already here. On the bright side, his name was among those on an eight-page list of βdesignated student-athletesβ released in Wednesday’s court filing, meaning he is one of many who will be able to seek a roster spot without counting against a school’s roster limit.
Some of the others cut from the Virginia Tech program have given up on their dreams of collegiate running altogether. Rimmel hasn’t given up completely; he spoke with his former coach recently, who said the Hokies’ athletics department is still trying to figure out whatβs to come.
βIβm still kind of hoping I might be able to find my way back there next fall,” he said.
