Last week, the U.S. Department of Education rescinded a nine-page fact sheet on Title IX distributed under the previous presidential administration that suggested name, image and likeness (NIL) payments to college athletes must be proportionate between a school’s male and female athletes.
With the pending $2.8 billion House v. NCAA settlement set to enable direct NIL compensation from colleges to athletes in the form of annual revenue sharing, the since-rescinded guidance could have impacted how schools allocate and distribute those revenue sharing dollars.
Instead, the fact sheet, originally released on Jan. 16, was described by the current Department of Education as an “11th-hour guidance” from the Joe Biden administration that was “sweeping and would require clear legal authority to support it. That does not exist.” President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, and many in college sports anticipated the Trump administration would have a different interpretation of Title IX’s role in NIL payments than the fact sheet.
In light of the guidance being rescinded, and with the House settlement’s final approval hearing scheduled for April 7, let’s examine the role Title IX could play in future revenue sharing within college sports.
GO DEEPER
Department of Education…
