NCAA's settlement proposal facing 'strong objection' from Big East

Jonnyeagle · May 21

On the brink of a historic settlement decision, the NCAA is facing pushback from one of its most prestigious basketball conferences.

In an email Saturday to her members, Big East commissioner Val Ackerman expressed “strong objection” to the NCAA’s proposal on how it is determining back damages related to the consolidated settlement in the House, Hubbard and Carter antitrust cases. And she is seeking ways to “alter the plan that the NCAA and A5 have orchestrated,” she writes in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Yahoo Sports.

The settlement, in the final stages of adoption, consists of three main concepts: back damages owed to former athletes ($2.77 billion); revenue-sharing for current and future athletes (upward of $22 million annually per school); and an overhaul of a variety of NCAA elements, including scholarship and roster limits, governance structure and enforcement arm.

Over a 10-year payback period, the NCAA is responsible for paying 40% of the $2.77 billion with the other 60% coming from a reduction in school distributions. To determine how much each of the 32 Division I conferences contribute, the association created a formula based on the amount of distribution that a league earned over a nine-year period starting in 2016, according to separate documents shared with commissioners. Most of the distribution that the NCAA divides among leagues— more than $700 million annually — is derived from revenues of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Under the formula, the Big East will be responsible for about $5 million to $7 million annually, or as much as $70 million over the next decade — a figure that works out to about $600,000-$700,000 per school per year.

“Based on the numbers we have reviewed, the liability of the 22 non-FBS conferences under the proposed formula appears disproportionately high, particularly because the primary beneficiaries of the NIL ‘back pay’ amounts are expected to be FBS football players,” Ackerman wrote. “I have voiced the Big East's strong objections to the proposed damages framework through recent emails to [NCAA president] Charlie Baker and his counsel and through comments during commissioner calls over the past two weeks.”

Read more: https://sports.yahoo.com/ncaas-settlement-proposal-facing-strong-objection-from-big-east-194238228.html

Jonnyeagle · May 21

The key section is:

Quote

“Based on the numbers we have reviewed, the liability of the 22 non-FBS conferences under the proposed formula appears disproportionately high, particularly because the primary beneficiaries of the NIL ‘back pay’ amounts are expected to be FBS football players,” Ackerman wrote. “I have voiced the Big East's strong objections to the proposed damages framework through recent emails to [NCAA president] Charlie Baker and his counsel and through comments during commissioner calls over the past two weeks.”