Diego Pavia Wins NCAA Eligibility Case, Nick Saban Calls for Major College Football Changes, and More| Newsletter #299
Welcome to the NIL Newsletter by Optimum Sports Consulting - providing valuable, actionable NIL resources for athletes, administrators, agencies and other sport professionals.
Today’s newsletter includes many legal updates and plenty of college football news
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This Monday Newsletter includes:
1. Vanderbilt quarterback defeats NCAA
2. Nick Saban’s suggestions on how to fix college football
3. What’s coming up in the world of NIL
4. Legal Updates: Lane Kiffin wins copyright lawsuit
5. News for administrators and student athletes
Major News
Court Issues Injunction to Let Diego Pavia Play in 2025
Chief U.S. District Judge William L. Campbell, Jr. granted an injunction blocking the NCAA from ruling Vanderbilt quarterback and former junior college transfer Diego Pavia ineligible to compete next season.
Pavia—who played at New Mexico Military Institute, a junior college, from 2020 to 2021— sought a preliminary injunction contending that the NCAA and its member institutions, which are competing businesses, violate antitrust law by restraining college athlete eligibility in unreasonable ways.
With today’s college athletes signing endorsement, sponsorship, and other NIL deals, Judge Campbell found that NCAA bylaws regulating who can play are too restrictive in the new NIL era. The NCAA cited several cases from the 2000s where courts upheld NCAA eligibility requirements on grounds that the requirements are “non-commercial in nature.” However, Judge Campbell rejected these claims stating that “those decisions were grounded in a pre-NIL world.” In those cases, decisions were “designed to keep commercial interests out of college sports” but that is no longer the case in today’s NIL landscape.
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Nick Saban Calls for National Legislation and Alignment With Academic Calendar
In response to Penn State quarterback, Beau Pribula, announcing his decision to leave the Nittany Lions prior to the College Football Playoff, Nick Saban offered up a solution to college football’s current transfer portal dilemma.
“You really can’t blame the players because if you’re going to have integrity, you’ve got to have integrity through a set of rules,” Saban said Friday on ESPN College GameDay. “I mean, we have a Constitution, we have a Bill of Rights – that’s what this country was built on. We have no rules in college football. The academic calendar and the football calendar do not match up relative to the season. It should never be that a player can leave his team before the end of the football season. You don’t need to be a free agent twice a year. You can be a free agent once a year.
This year, college players could enter the portal Dec. 9 – the day after the CFP rankings reveal and bowl assignments – while another transfer window opens in the spring. For players like Beau considering transferring, this means they would have to do so while their team is currently competing for a National Championship - an inconvenience to both players and their programs.
In addition to a college football schedule that aligns with the academic calendar, Saban emphasized the need for a national NIL bill that would make the rules the same in all the states.
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Other Notable Stories to Follow
Pac 12 applies for multiple trademarks - LINK
Louisville’s increased spending on their Women’s Volleyball program leads to on-court success - LINK
Should the WNBA change their eligibility rules? - LINK
Notre Dame’s non-profit collective closes despite massive success - LINK
What’s Coming Up Next For NIL
December 28th | College Football Transfer Portal Closes
Next Week | College Football Playoff Quarterfinals
April 7, 2025 | Final Approval Hearing for the House v. NCAA Settlement
Legal Updates
Lane Kiffin Wins Copyright Lawsuit
Last Monday, U.S. District Judge Michael P. Mills granted Lane Kiffin’s motion to dismiss psychologist Keith Bell’s copyright infringement lawsuit. The lawsuit centered around Lane Kiffin tweeting a photocopy image of Bell’s “WIN Passage” in 2022.
The judge concluded that the Ole Miss coach’s use of the WIN passage was protected by fair use, and went on to say that “anyone reading Kiffin’s tweet would assume that this was simply him saying, in effect, ‘somebody said this, and I thought it was worth sharing.’” Although Judge Mills said that Kiffin should have acknowledged Mr. Bell as the owner, the lack of attribution is not legally meaningful.
CLICK HERE to learn more.
House Case Lawyers Seek Half a Billion Dollars
The class counsel representing the plaintiffs in the House case filed a motion with the court seeking legal fees and reimbursements of around $484 million.
The lawyers are also asking that the class representatives in the case—Grant House, Tymir Oliver, Sedona Prince—receive $125,000 apiece; and other representatives, DeWayne Carter and Nya Harrison, receive a service award of $10,000 while class representative Nicholas Solomon would net a service award of $5,000.
CLICK HERE to learn more.
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FOR ATHLETES
Notes for the Week
FOR ADMINS
Notes for the Week
College sports program valuations - LINK
Auburn announces ticket price adjustments due to “NIL era” - LINK
Thanks for Reading!
Keep up to date on all of our newsletters and content by checking out past Optimum Sports Consulting Newsletters, and following us on Twitter!