Takedown Report

D1 Wrestling Coaches Bracing For Turbulence On Heels Of NCAA Settlement

The House v. NCAA settlement could reshape college athletics. It’s already causing stress for those who make a living in non-revenue Olympic sports.
Everything last October indicated Iowa State was accelerating ahead on a state-of-the-art wrestling facility project. 
The Cyclones had picked out a building on the southwest side of Ames and produced digital renderings of the $20 million project, showcasing six full mats, a lounge area and other modern amenities. Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard posted on social media that it would open in the fall of 2025 and claimed it would “be the best wrestling facility in the country.” Less than eight months later, the project has been postponed with no timetable for when or if it will be resumed.  “With this lawsuit getting ready to be settled,” Pollard told reporters last month at an Iowa State booster gathering, referring to the landmark House vs. NCAA case, “you just can’t go forward with projects like that.” 
This is today’s college athletics world. It’s a place fraught with economic uncertainty — a place where tectonic plates are shifting faster than ever. It’s not a comfortable environment for those who make a living in non-revenue Olympic sports.  “If I had to sum it up in a sentence,” Iowa State wrestling coach Kevin Dresser said, “I’d say the next 18 months are going to be crazy, crazy, rocky and bumpy.” 
Dresser is far from the only college wrestling coach who’s bracing for turbulence.  “I worry about our sport in general,” Maryland coach Alex Clemsen said. “And I worry about Olympic sports in general.” “There’s going to be teams, and it’s not just wrestling, this is going to be every sport — track, baseball, swimming, diving, lacrosse — they’re all going to take a hit,” North Carolina coach Rob Koll said. “There’s no doubt in my mind, unfortunately.”

An ‘Economic Earthquake’ 

The past decade has ushered in a period of transformation unlike any other in the history of collegiate athletics, headlined by conference realignment, the advent of the transfer portal and the proliferation of name, image and likeness compensation after the NCAA unlocked NIL opportunities for athletes in the summer of 2021. 
The latest hot-button issue centers around the House v. NCAA lawsuit and the potential ramifications for college athletics. 
In 2020, Arizona State swimmer Grant House sued the NCAA for banning college athletes from capitalizing on their name, image and likeness. In addition to seeking back pay for Division I athletes who were barred from earning NIL compensation prior to the summer of 2021, House v. NCAA also set out to pursue a share of the future broadcast revenue for athletes. 
Last month, the NCAA and Power 5 conferences agreed to a settlement worth more than $2.75 billion, resolving three pending antitrust lawsuits — House v. NCAA, Hubbard v. NCAA and Carter v. NCAA — which challenged NCAA compensation and NIL limits. The settlement still needs approval from Judge Claudia Wilken, but it paves a path to a more professionalized era of college athletics. 
Along with providing back pay to athletes who lost out on potential NIL earnings dating back to 2016, the settlement also creates the framework for schools to share revenues with athletes. 
The settlement allows each school to share 22 percent of the average Power 5 school’s revenues, which is projected to be more than $20 million annually per school.  “At the end of the day, this is an economic earthquake within the system,” Smith College … more at … Flowrestling.org/D1-wrestling-coaches-bracing-for-turbulence-on-heels-of-ncaa-settlement

July 7, 2024 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized