The University of Maine has decided to opt in to the landmark NCAA settlement with Division I student-athletes, which opens the door for players to be paid directly by schools as part of a seismic shift across college athletics.
UMaine had previously signaled an intent to opt out of the settlement for the coming year, but the school’s athletic department said in a statement Friday that additional guidance and clarification from the NCAA changed the calculus in Orono.
“The University of Maine has closely monitored the House vs. NCAA case and carefully considered the implications of its settlement for the future of collegiate athletics,” the UMaine athletic department’s statement said. “While our initial intention was to opt out, after closer review of the final settlement and the clarifying guidance — in particular regarding roster limits — we have officially notified the NCAA that we will opt in for the 2025-26 academic year.”
The historic House settlement was approved by a federal judge on June 6 and resolves several antitrust lawsuits brought by current and former college athletes against the NCAA. The settlement gets its name from former Arizona State swimmer Grant House, a lead plaintiff in one of those cases.
Under the settlement, the NCAA will pay roughly $2.8 billion in damages to student-athletes and schools will now be able to compensate athletes directly in addition to providing scholarships. Schools that opt in will also be eligible for revenue sharing under the agreement.
“This decision aligns with our ongoing commitment to supporting and enhancing the student-athlete experience and promoting a level playing field,” UMaine said in its statement.
The settlement allows for schools to either opt in or out each year. Some schools had been looking for more information and answers from the NCAA as they considered whether to join this new framework or not.
UMaine said earlier this month that it intended to opt out for the coming season, but stressed that a final decision was not yet required at the time.
Since then, the NCAA provided schools with more time to make that final decision, along with more information and flexibility as a new era begins in college sports.
A previous June 15 deadline for schools to opt in or not was pushed to June 30. And updated rules to implement the settlement have seemingly assuaged one of the more widespread concerns about the incoming changes involving scholarships and roster limits.
While the settlement lifts an existing cap on the number of scholarships that Division I programs can offer, schools that opt in will also be subject to new roster limits (those limits will vary depending on the sport). That impending change had schools concerned that existing athletes might need to be cut from teams in order to meet the new roster limits.
But new roster limit rules formally approved by the Division I Board of Directors on June 23 include exemptions for those existing athletes.
“The rules changes include legislated exceptions for current student-athletes with remaining eligibility whose roster spots would have been impacted by immediate implementation of the roster limits,” the NCAA said in a statement. “Those designated student-athletes will be identified by their current or former schools, and regardless of the school for which they participate, they will not count toward that school’s roster limits for the duration of their eligibility.”
The UMaine statement indicates that the final details and clarifications around the roster limits appeared to play a prominent role in the school’s ultimate decision to opt in to the settlement after all.
The new rules go into effect July 1 as UMaine and other schools continue to navigate this new reality in college sports.
“We will continue to take a thoughtful, strategic approach as the collegiate athletics landscape evolves,” the UMaine statement said. “We will reassess this decision annually to ensure it remains aligned with the best interests of our student-athletes, the university and the state.”
