05/07/25 09:29:00
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05/07 21:27 CDT 'Hands tied': Athletes left in dark as NCAA settlement leaves
murky future for nonrevenue sports
'Hands tied': Athletes left in dark as NCAA settlement leaves murky future for
nonrevenue sports
By MAURA CAREY
AP Sports Writer
The $2.8 billion NCAA settlement awaiting final approval from a federal judge
is touted as a solution for thousands of athletes to finally get the money they
deserve and provide some clarity to recruiting. For some, it may have come too
late.
Sophomore distance runner Jake Rimmel says he was one of five walk-ons cut from
Virginia Tech's cross country team after Thanksgiving break. Rimmel decided to
take a leave of absence and train independently while considering his next move
--- something that's proven easier said than done.
"Everyone's got their hands tied right now, so there's just not many
opportunities for me," Rimmel told The Associated Press. "I've just been having
to bet on myself and trust the process. It's just been lonely. I've been at
home training by myself and living with my family again. Thank God for my
family and all, I appreciate them. It's still kind of lonely though, being out
of the norm, not being at school and with my friends."
Pending approval, the so-called House settlement will allow schools to share
revenue with athletes directly for use of their name, image and likeness (NIL).
That could secure generational wealth for some but not others, and replacing
scholarship caps with roster limitations is expected to leave walk-ons, partial
scholarship earners, nonrevenue sport athletes and high school recruits at
risk. There are deep concerns about the potential impact on sports that feed
the U.S. Olympic teams.
U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken told attorneys handling the settlement to
come back to her with a plan soon to protect athletes currently or recently on
rosters at schools across the country, a request seen as a way to soften the
blow.
That filing came late Wednesday, with attorneys saying schools must offer
athletes who lost their spots a chance to play --- at their old school or their
new school --- without counting against the roster limits for as long as they
have eligibility.
There is no guarantee those athletes will win a spot on the roster and, for
now, thousands of athletes like Rimmel have no idea where they might be this
fall or are in jeopardy of no longer playing college sports at all. And many
athletes balancing school and their sport are unaware of what's at stake and
have more questions than answers.
Belmont track and field athlete Sabrina Oostburg said everything she knows
about the settlement is from personal research.
"My school doesn't do a lot of education around it (the settlement). Every now
and then, we'll be told, ?Hey, if you want to sign up to potentially get some
money from this House settlement that's happening, you can do that,'" Oostburg
said. "It's almost like the education we're being given is optional to consume,
even though it's limited."
Oostburg is used to taking matters into her own hands, securing over 50 NIL
deals by herself. She has contacted lawyers and asked for updates on the
settlement, but she's not quite reassured. The chaotic nature of college
athletics, so obvious to the public, is even worse for the athletes themselves.
"Being a college athlete, it's so hard to stay up to date with what's happening
every day because it's so constantly changing," she said.
Smaller, nonrevenue-generating programs don't often have a point person to
navigate NIL deals or educate athletes. At Belmont, Oostburg said, NIL-related
responsibilities are managed by an already busy compliance office.
"To take time to learn about what's happening is just so time-consuming,
especially if you're not in that one percent or one of the football players
where they have people dedicated to helping them stay up to date," she said.
Over the next six weeks, athletes will wrap up their spring semesters and many
of them have league tournaments or even NCAA championship competition ahead
before what many expect will be the final summer before college sports sees
some of the most dramatic changes in history.
For athletes like Rimmel, those changes are already here. On the bright side,
his name was among those on an eight-page list of "designated student-athletes"
released in Wednesday's court filing, meaning he is one of many who will be
able to seek a roster spot without counting against a school's roster limit.
Some of the others cut from the Virginia Tech program have given up on their
dreams of collegiate running altogether. Rimmel hasn't given up completely; he
spoke with his former coach recently, who said the Hokies' athletics department
is still trying to figure out what's to come.
"I'm still kind of hoping I might be able to find my way back there next fall,"
he said.
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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
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