The NCAA has extended its deadline for schools to opt in or out of the historic settlement that opens the door for college institutions to pay athletes directly.
A previous deadline of June 15 has been pushed back to June 30.
That means the University of Maine and other Division I schools now have until June 30 to decide whether to opt into the landmark settlement between the NCAA and student athletes for the coming athletic year.
A statement on Monday from the UMaine athletic department said that the state’s only Division I program intends to opt out of that settlement — at least for the first year. Schools will be able to make the decision to opt in or out on an annual basis.
The UMaine statement emphasized that its intention to opt out was based on the information available at the time, and noted that a final decision wasn’t yet required.
UMaine Athletic Director Jude Killy said Thursday that, as outlined in the previous statement, the school’s intent is to opt out of the settlement this year. Killy also stressed that UMaine is “waiting to see what additional guidance and information comes out from the NCAA as the opt in/opt out date has officially been pushed back to June 30.”
So a final decision is still forthcoming from UMaine and many other Division I schools across the country.
The unprecedented House v. NCAA settlement will open the door to more than $2 billion being paid out to former athletes who weren’t allowed to earn money during their time at NCAA institutions. And it will allow the universities that opt in to compensate athletes directly with an annual cap of $20.5 million per school, while opening up some revenue sharing for those schools.
But opting in also comes with a dizzying web of new rules and regulations, and many schools are still working to understand the implications of the settlement that was just approved by a federal judge last week.
The settlement’s new roster limits have been of particular concern for some schools that have already decided to opt out or are considering doing so. Schools have been concerned that those limits could require cuts to existing rosters.
That is just one of several layers of uncertainty in this new and fast-moving landscape. Though it opens the door to direct compensation, the settlement leaves unanswered the question of whether student athletes can now legally be considered employees.
And the House settlement, so-named for one of the lead athlete plaintiffs in an anti-trust case against the NCAA, has already led to additional legal action in just its first week. A group of eight female athletes appealed the agreement on Wednesday and argued that women wouldn’t receive a fair share of the settlement funds, according to the Associated Press.
