Orlando, Florida-the president of the NCAA, Charlie Baker, told hundreds of collegiate athletics administrators during an opening speech on Tuesday that the recent approval of settlements of the multimillionaire house creates “a much better future” for the organization, one that “comes with options, instead of bankruptcy.”
Baker made his first public comments since Judge Claudia Wilken approved the agreement between the NCAA, its most powerful conferences and lawyers representing all the athletes of Division I, while heading to the National Association of Collegiate Directors of the Athletics Convention. The settlement of the camera v. NCAA, reached last Friday, ends three separate federal antitrust demands, all of which said that the NCAA was illegally limiting the winning power of university athletes.
Faced with a crowd alone, Baker told the group gathered: “No one in this room needs to say that this is one of the biggest changes in university sports. I hope you also understand that it is a much better future than practically all the other alternatives that could have been in front of us.
“Kake those who want to blame. But the simple truth is clear: the collective collective disability of university sports or the lack of will to change years ago puts the entire company at risk. [of] triple that amount once. And creates a future that comes with options, instead of bankruptcy. “
As a result of the agreement, the NCAA will pay almost $ 2.8 billion in subsequent damage in the next 10 years to athletes who competed at the university at any time from 2016 to the present. In addition, schools can now pay athletes of up to $ 20.5 million in participation in revenues from 2025-26.
During a brief availability of media with journalists after their public comments, Baker said he was at a wedding in Indianapolis when the agreement was approved. He checked his phone to see if one of his children had called and saw the news alert. Then he started walking around the room to spread the news to other NCAA officials at the wedding.
“I ran like Pied Piper and told everyone,” Baker said. “It's one of those things I will always remember where I was.”
The schools have until June 15 to choose to participate in the agreement, although Baker said that there has been a discussion between the conferences to boost that date to July 1 as they begin to read a document of frequent 50 -page questions that have been distributed.
In his comments to the group, Baker acknowledged: “Change of this scale will be difficult, and the transition will be difficult. No one gets everything they want in a settlement … university sports need stability while we modernize.”
In fact, schools have been preparing to pay players for more than a year and must make decisions on whether to participate fully in the salary limit of $ 20.5 million, how to obtain additional financing and how to divide money between their players. Michigan, for example, recently announced a reduction of personnel from the athletics department of 10 percent as a result of the agreement.
When asked about schools that have to make financial decisions like this, Baker returned to their comments on schools that have options.
“I have spoken with many schools in Di, at all levels. They all get the fact that it is better to make decisions than to have decisions for you, which is what the alternative was,” Baker said.
He also noted that Power 4 conferences, for the most part, have said they have no current plans to eliminate sports, and believes that the elimination of scholarships is positive.
“Many of the people who predict what will happen here, well for them, but the conclusion is that we do not know. And, and I think it is important to let this develop and then make adjustments if people need.”
