College pay formalising

Big-time college sports now have a formal pay system: the House v. National Collegiate Athletic Association settlement lets Division I schools pay athletes directly. (collegesportscommission.org) The settlement was approved on June 6, 2025, by Judge Claudia Wilken in federal court, and participating schools can now share up to $20.5 million each with athletes in the 2025-26 academic year. The cap is tied to 22% of average power-conference revenue from media rights, tickets and sponsorships. (collegesportscommission.org) Schools must report those payments through a new College Athlete Payment System, and athletes can receive the money on top of scholarships, third-party name, image and likeness deals, and other allowed education benefits. (collegesportscommission.org) The Economic Policy Institute said April 13 that these changes move college sports further away from the old “amateurism” model and make compensation a standard part of the biggest programs. Its analysis said only some athletes share in that shift, because the new direct-pay system applies to Division I schools with the largest sports businesses. (epi.org) The new pay structure is already colliding with state transparency fights. In Louisiana, the House and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 9-3 on April 14 to advance House Bill 608, which would shield key revenue-sharing records at public universities. (lailluminator.com) The bill would create a public-records exemption for direct athlete payments and, after an amendment, for how much colleges spend on individual teams. Opponents told lawmakers that would hide how public universities allocate money across sports, not just what any one athlete receives. (lailluminator.com) Louisiana’s debate is partly about what kind of money this is. The Louisiana Illuminator reported that revenue-sharing payments come from university funds, including self-generated revenue such as ticket sales, state dollars and, at some campuses, student fees, while private name, image and likeness deals are already exempt from disclosure. (lailluminator.com) At Texas Christian University, the pressure is coming through federal sex-discrimination law. TCU 360 reported April 14 that Champion Women updated a civil-rights complaint alleging the school fails to provide women equal athletic opportunities, scholarship dollars, treatment and recruiting support under Title IX. (tcu360.com) The complaint says 61% of Texas Christian University’s student body is female, but the school reported 302 female athletes and 365 male athletes. It also says TCU awarded $11.2 million in athletic aid to women in 2023-24, compared with $14.3 million for men, and spent about $571,000 recruiting women versus $1.8 million recruiting men. (tcu360.com) TCU said similar complaints were filed against about 100 schools three years ago and said its women’s programs have posted recent results, including Big 12 and national titles. As schools turn athlete pay into a line item, the next fights are moving to public-records law and Title IX compliance. (tcu360.com)