NCAA president Charlie Baker has proposed a radical new plan that would allow schools to directly compensate student-athletes through an educational trust, while also creating a new D-I football subdivision for those schools that choose to participate.
According to CBS, membership in the new subdivision would be voluntary, but would require an investment of at least $30,000 per year into an educational trust fund for at least half of its total number of athletes. That would guarantee half the schools' athletes $120,000 over four years of competition. Money distributed by the university would be subject to Title IX requirements, meaning half the allocated money would be required to go to female athletes. In addition to base compensation delivered through a trust, schools could then sign additional NIL deals to augment compensation.
NCAA president Charlie Baker has proposed a radical new plan that would allow schools to directly compensate student-athletes through an educational trust, while also creating a new D-I football subdivision for those schools that choose to participate.Â
According to CBS, membership in the new subdivision would be voluntary, but would require an investment of at least $30,000 per year into an educational trust fund for at least half of its total number of athletes. That would guarantee half the schools' athletes $120,000 over four years of competition. Money distributed by the university would be subject to Title IX requirements, meaning half the allocated money would be required to go to female athletes. In addition to base compensation delivered through a trust, schools could then sign additional NIL deals to augment compensation.Â
The football subdivision would be independent. of the FBS and FCS, and teams at either level would be eligible to opt into the new subdivision. However those teams that opt in would do so independently of the rest of college football, with a separate governing structure to determine everything from roster sizes to transfer and NIL rules.Â
"It is time for us -- the NCAA -- to offer our own forward-looking framework," Baker wrote in a letter obtained by CBS. "This framework must sustain the best elements of the student-athlete experience for all student-athletes, build on the financial and organizational investments that have positively changed the trajectory of women's sports, and enhance the athletic and academic experience for student-athletes who attend the highest resourced colleges and universities."Â
Athletic directors have offered support for Baker's plan, with Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts calling it an "important step forward."Â
"Thank you, Charlie Baker, for your leadership," Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said in a post on X. "I am 100% supportive of your efforts. Intercollegiate Athletics needs the proactive and forward thinking you are providing. Thank you for this letter!"Â
While there are no assurances that Baker's plan will be approved it offers a starting point for discussions on how to proceed with a new era of college sports.Â
"[The plan] kick-starts a long-overdue conversation among the membership that focuses on the differences that exist between schools, conferences and divisions and how to create more permissive and flexible rules across the NCAA that put student-athletes first," Baker wrote. "Colleges and universities need to be more flexible, and the NCAA needs to be more flexible too."Â
