Rick Pitino NIL Concerns, Tennessee's NCAA Investigation, NCISAA Approves NIL Provision + ICYMI & More | NIL Newsletter #213
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Major News
Rick Pitino Addresses NIL Following Loss to No. 1 Connecticut
Following St. John’s loss to No. 1 Connecticut, their fifth loss in sixth games, Pitino commented on building a basketball program without a standardized set of NIL rules
Pitino compares NIL to free agency and believes that the NCAA will allow “everybody” to transfer.
Pitino calls for a change in the enforcement staff stating “We need to stop all the hypocrisy of NIL.”
St. John’s completely remade the roster before the 2023-2024 season, bringing in five fifth-year players who will likely need to be replaced this offseason.
Tennessee Faces Potential NIL Violations In Multiple Sports
Tennessee acknowledges that the investigation is “major in nature” but has yet to receive a notice of allegations from the NCAA.
Speculation arises over the deal given to Five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who signed with the Volunteers weeks after an unnamed recruit committed to an NIL deal worth $8 million.
Tennessee’s NIL Collective, The Volunteer Club, is considered one of the best collectives in the country with more than 4000 athletes signed across 11 different sports.
The Volunteers believe that they have done nothing wrong and reference the vagueness of the NIL space and its subjectivity.
NCISAA Joins Thirty Other High School Athletic Organizations In NIL Policy
The North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA) has adopted an NIL policy that allows student-athletes to retain eligibility as long as they keep their school and NIL activities separate.
Student-athletes are not allowed to sign with collectives and member schools cannot offer, secure, or participate in NIL deals.
A similar policy was proposed by the NC High School Athletic Association in 2023, but was shut down before being enacted.
The policy will be implemented at the start of the 2024-2025 season across 100 private schools in North Carolina.
For Athletes
Deal of the Week
Celsius has officially partnered with Jarred McCain (G- Duke), Cody Williams (F- Colorado), Kwame Evans (F- Oregon), and Juju Watkins (G- USC).
Despite debates over its caffeine content, the energy drink has been ruled NCAA-compliant for moderate consumption.
LINK.
ICYMI
The University of Oregon ends with the No. 3 recruiting class, spending only $85K per athlete (on average) in NIL compared with Georgia (No. 1) which spent $172K. LINK.
LeBron James comments on the nature of NIL and its potential distraction to student-athletes. LINK.
Iowa star Caitlin Clark’s deals reach an approximate value of $739,000. LINK.
NCAA comments on institutions entering NIL deal with student-athletes; claiming it would resemble an employment-like relationship. LINK.
Deion Sanders breaks down what NIL deals are actually about to students at Colorado. LINK.
Have you checked out OSC’s website?
Head to www.OptimumSportsConsulting.com to find important resources and features relating to all things NIL. These resources include State by State Resources for Admins, Agents, and Athletes, including our initial “OSC Summaries” for over a dozen states coming soon.
More to come too, including links to helpful state information- agency laws and information about school policies, as well as seminar/congressional notes, worksheets, and much more!