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#10: Arizona AD Dave Heeke will no longer lead the Wildcats after seven years at the helm, effective February 2. President Robert Robbins: "He helped get out men's and women's basketball programs and our football program on a strong trajectory, oversaw the success of several of our sports teams and greatly enhanced the student-athlete experience. Dave always displayed the highest integrity, and I am appreciative of his partnership and dedication." Former Softball HC Mike Candrea will serve as Interim AD (link); WildcatAuthority.com’s Jason Scheer adds: “There is an audit on Arizona Athletic Department that will be released within the next week or so and the results were not good. There are other issues at Arizona, but Heeke will be taking the fall for it.” (link)
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#9: Dartmouth men’s basketball student-athletes are university employees and are therefore eligible to unionize under U.S. labor law, according to the NLRB Regional Director Laura Sacks, who finds: “Because Dartmouth has the right to control the work performed by the Dartmouth men’s basketball team, and because the players perform that work in exchange for compensation, the petitioned-for basketball players are employees within the meaning of the [National Labor Relations] Act. Additionally, I find that asserting jurisdiction would not create instability in labor relations. Accordingly, I shall direct an election in the petitioned-for unit. … Like the graduate student research assistants and teaching assistants in Columbia University, and like the football players in Northwestern University, the basketball players at issue here perform work which benefits Dartmouth. While there is some factual dispute as to how much revenue is generated by the men’s basketball program, and whether that program is profitable, the profitability of any given business does not affect the employee status of the individuals who perform work for that business. The basketball program clearly generates alumni engagement—and financial donations—as well as publicity which leads to student interest and applications. The Employer concedes that the players are representing Dartmouth when they wear Dartmouth-branded clothing and uniforms. While students at Dartmouth take part in many extracurricular activities, major media outlets do not pay for the right to broadcast and distribute video of the vast majority of those activities.” Full downloadable 26-page decision can be found here. (link); For more analysis of the landmark decision, here’s a Dartmouth-NLRB content supplement. (link, link)
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#8: Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger with key notes on the House settlement: “83% of the back pay — $2.3 billion — is expected to go to an estimated 19,000 football and men’s basketball players, many of them from power conferences. That is an average of about $120,000 per player over the 10-year period, or $12,000 a year. [...] A court-appointed ‘special master’ will settle disputes over compliance and interpretation matters about the revenue-sharing model, a role currently occupied by the NCAA office. A ‘neutral arbiter’ is charged with hearing and ruling on appeals from athletes or schools found to have violated rules connected to the new model, a role currently held by the NCAA infractions entity. [...] Language in the settlement seeks to eliminate or greatly reduce what many college leaders describe as ‘phony’ NIL payments from booster organizations to athletes. The settlement does this through an assortment of rules and an enforcement mechanism that is protected through the court. [...] The settlement makes clear that school funds used by an outside entity to distribute to athletes will count against the revenue-sharing cap. [...] There is, however, one way to circumvent the cap. As part of the revenue-sharing model, schools can serve as an athlete’s ‘marketing agent’ for third-party NIL deals by entering into exclusive or non-exclusive endorsement agreements to purchase a player’s NIL. This is the transaction that permits schools to share revenue with athletes, but it also does something else: Schools are permitted to procure outside, third-party NIL deals for their athletes that do not count against the revenue-share cap, as long as those deals are proven to be authentic.” Lots more as Dellenger continues to lead the way on the industry changes to come. (link)
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#7: The The MAC will add Massachusetts as a full-time member, beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach and Chris Vannini report that “Conference USA also had conversations with UMass about joining the conference, especially after announcing around Thanksgiving it would add Delaware in all sports. CUSA hopes to invite a 12th member this spring and Missouri State remains an option there with UMass now off the table.” (link, link)
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#6: Arizona has tapped Missouri AD Desireé Reed-Francois for the same post, effective March 3. Terms of Reed-Francois’ five-year contract starts with a $1M base salary in the first year with incremental raises to $1.2M in the fifth year. She will also receive an additional $250K annual contribution from the UA Foundation and be eligible for additional incentive compensation based on the department's athletic and academic success, as well as retention bonuses after four and five years of employment with the University. UA President Robert Robbins: "We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Desireé to the University of Arizona family, and we could not be more excited about the leadership experience and outstanding credentials she brings. Respected nationally for her commitment to student-athletes, Desireé has a history of success everywhere she's served and is exactly the right person we need to modernize our athletics operations and usher in an ongoing culture of success in all aspects of Athletics. This is a tremendous win for our university and I cannot wait for her to get started." Reed-Francois adds: "There are very few institutions that would entice me to leave an SEC athletics department with strong momentum. The University of Arizona has tremendous potential and is an institution — and an athletics program — on the rise, and I want to be a part of shaping that future.” (link, link)
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#5: Alabama Football HC Nick Saban will retire, per ESPN's Chris Low. (link)
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#4: The Mercury News' Jon Wilner reports the Pac-12 "has formally begun the process of separating from commissioner George Kliavkoff." (link)
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#3: Dartmouth men’s basketball team voted in favor of unionization by a vote of 13-2. Sportico’s Michael McCann and Daniel Libit report that “immediately following the vote, Dartmouth filed a 51-page appeal of the NLRB regional director’s Feb. 5 decision and director of the election. In the filing, the university argued that regional director Laura Sacks, by determining the school’s basketball players were employees, made an ‘unprecedented, unwarranted, and unsupported departure’ from legal and board precedent. The basketball players will now have an opportunity to file a response to the appeal, and both parties also have until March 12 to file objections to the election. Barring those, it would then be up to Sacks whether to certify the election or to hold an additional hearing. … The appeal will be heard by the agency’s five-member board, which currently has one vacancy. There is no timetable on how long the board will take to decide, but no decision is expected for months.” Big Green student-athletes Cade Haskins and Romeo Myrthil: “Today is a big day for our team. We stuck together all season and won this election. It is self-evident that we, as students, can also be both campus workers and union members. … It’s time for the age of amateurism to end." (link, link, link)
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#2: U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken has granted preliminary approval to the House settlement, concluding that “on a preliminary basis only, the settlement complies with the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 that the agreement be fair, reasonable and adequate,” according to Sportico’s Michael McCann. The process of officially notifying current and former athletes of the terms and claims procedures is set to begin on October 18. Those who would be covered by the agreement will have the opportunity to object or opt out by January 31, 2025, with a final approval hearing scheduled for April 7, 2025. NCAA President Charlie Baker: "We are thrilled by Judge Wilken’s decision to give preliminary approval to the landmark settlement that will help bring stability and sustainability to college athletics while delivering increased benefits to student-athletes for years to come. Today’s progress is a significant step in writing the next chapter for the future of college sports. We look forward to working with all of Division I, and especially student-athlete leadership groups to chart the path forward and drive historic change." USA Today’s Steve Berkowitz notes schools could begin paying their athletes in the first academic year after final approval and the resolution of any potential appeals. “So, in theory, payments to athletes could begin during the 2025-26 school year. And [House plaintiffs’ attorney Steve] Berman has said current and former athletes could begin receiving checks from the damages pool in fall 2025, if not sooner.” McCann: “For the NCAA and the plaintiffs’ attorneys, Monday is a positive development but by no means represents the crossing of the finish lines. There are still miles to go on that front.” (link, link, link); Berkowitz adds that Wilken’s “order today did not include any specific commentary concerning her reasons for granting preliminary approval other than fairly standard general language saying that she will ‘likely be able to approve the Settlement as fair, reasonable and adequate ... subject to further consideration’ at the final approval hearing.” (link); Full order. (link); Following the preliminary approval of the House settlement, Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger highlights some of the finer points, noting that “schools have a choice to opt out of settlement terms, thus prohibiting them from sharing revenue. Many FCS & basketball-playing programs plan to opt out of the settlement. There is ongoing debate on future competition between P4 schools & those that opt out.” (link)
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#1: The College Basketball Players Association has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB against Notre Dame. The charge involves all Fighting Irish student-athletes, per CBS' Dennis Dodd. (link, link)
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