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The case for steward-ownership in college athletics

4 0
24.01.2025

College athletics is on the precipice of a major shift from a system of amateurism that restricts athletes’ compensation to a framework more akin to professional sports. For years, the NCAA, the nonprofit that regulates college athletics, has been subject to numerous antitrust lawsuits seeking to dismantle amateurism. College athletes have already won the right to profit off their name, image, and likeness, and, in October 2024, a federal judge granted preliminary approval of a settlement that would allow revenue-sharing with athletes. While the terms of the settlement will need to be fleshed out, the lack of detail around how the new model will be governed is one of the most glaring omissions.

The governance by the NCAA of more than 1,200 schools across three distinct competitive divisions of college sports has proven to have limitations on the ability to effectively manage a multibillion-dollar industry. As argued in the Wall Street Journal, “having dozens of sports trying to live under the same recruiting, eligibility and financial-aid standards is impractical and inefficient” and revenue-generating sports like football and men’s basketball “should be governed by a separate association ... breaking up the NCAA monopoly into several nimble and efficient governing bodies.”

While the NCAA may have a role to retain in certain aspects of college sports, it........

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