SBJ College: NIL Sees Forward Progress From Congress

It’s as certain as ever that college athletes will be compensated for their name, image and likeness. Now it’s a matter of determining what the marketplace looks like.

COMMON-SENSE NAME/IMAGE/LIKENESS BILL INTRODUCED

• Out of Florida today came what appears to be a common-sense name, image and likeness bill from Sen. Marco Rubio that included protection from legal challenges and stopped states from creating their own NIL laws. One of the biggest concerns about state-by-state NIL legislation was that it would create different rules for different schools. “We can’t have 50 different states with 50 different laws,” Rubio said. “It’ll destroy college football.”
  
  
• Rubio’s bill would enable the NCAA to move forward with its plans to create a new NIL marketplace where college athletes can monetize their rights and for the first time be legally compensated by third parties. According to Rubio’s bill, new NIL rules would have to be in effect by June 30, 2021.
  
  
• Rubio is part of a Senate working group studying NIL rights in college athletics. He said the group is not unanimous on the new bill, but it does represent the clearest path yet for the NCAA to create an NIL marketplace with some cover from Congress.

AAC COMMITTED TO ACTION ON RACIAL INEQUALITY

• Commissioner Mike Aresco said that words condemning racial inequality were nice, but the action that comes after the words will ultimately define the American Athletic Conference’s response to the nation’s cry for social justice. We’ve heard it a lot already -- what will follow the statements in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing? Aresco believes the AAC has a plan that will be distinguished in college athletics. The AAC announced the formation of the Racial Equality Action Group, led by Tulsa AD Derrick Gragg.
  
  
• When I caught up with Aresco today, he was eager to share some of the action components of the plan. They include:
  
  
  • A public service announcement campaign that will run indefinitely. “This is not going to be a short-term thing,” he said.
  • Town halls, seminars and workshops in communities where the conference’s schools are based.
  • Research projects focused on racism and race relations with resources coming from the conference through the conference’s academic consortium.
  • Dialogue with campus and community police.
    
    
• “We determined early on that we weren’t going to just make a statement and then not do anything,” Aresco said.

MELT SHIFTS TO VIRTUAL SPEAKER SERIES IN JUNE/JULY

• Atlanta-based agency MELT is taking its robust summer internship program virtual. CEO Vince Thompson started MELT U, as the program is known, to introduce college students to some of the movers and shakers in collegiate sports marketing and media through a summer speaker series. With Melt U going virtual, Thompson is converting the speaker series into a podcast. He anticipates producing 50 episodes this summer, with guests ranging from Coca-Cola North America President Jim Dinkins to CBS broadcaster Tracy Wolfson, Texas A&M AD Ross Bjork and Kyle Sherman of Fox Sports/Home Team Sports.
  
  
• The virtual Melt U, which runs through June and July, will be able to accommodate many more students than the 40 who were originally selected. Thompson also will teach from his forthcoming book, “You Had Me At Hello,” which is due out this summer and explores what job seekers must do in a post-COVID-19 world.

MELT's Vince Thompson was rocking a Paul Finebaum t-shirt for yesterday's "lunch & learn" session

CHECK OUT THE PRINT ISSUE OF SBJ THIS WEEK

• Don’t miss this week’s issue of SBJ. Meanwhile, if you’d like to receive the print issue at your home office, update your delivery address at any time within your account settings here. If you have any questions about how and where to receive your print copy of SBJ, please email help@sportsbusinessdaily.com.

SPEED READS

• Bill Self’s attorney has informed the NCAA that the Kansas men's hoops coach is considering legal action against the governing body for its handling of the violations case involving Self and the KU men’s basketball program. The Lawrence Journal-World notes Scott Tompsett, Self’s attorney, said in a June 12 letter to the NCAA’s general counsel that Self was "considering legal action for negligence, breach of contract, defamation and fraud, among other claims."
  
  
• The newly formed Central Collegiate Hockey Association, which will begin play in 2021-22, named Don Lucia as commissioner, reports SBJ’s Mark J. Burns. Lucia’s arguably best known for his 18 seasons coaching at Minnesota,where he won two national championships. He retired in 2018 following a 31-year career, which included other head coaching positions at Colorado College and Alaska-Fairbanks. The D-I conference, which previously existed from 1971-2013 before realignment brought about its demise, currently has seven teams among the states of Minnesota, Michigan and Ohio.
  
  
• Significant revenue shortfalls because of the pandemic are leading to football expense cutbacks at Oregon State. AD Scott Barnes tells the Portland Oregonian that the "combination of cost and COVID-19 safety concerns caused him to eliminate overnight stays before the Beavers’ seven home games" during the 2020 season. It’s an expense that "costs in the low six figures." Barnes made a similar move years ago when he was at Utah State.
  
  
• Duke’s Mayonnaise is the new title sponsor of the regular season college football game and postseason bowl played in Charlotte, reports SBJ's Andrew Levin. The Duke’s Mayo Classic is scheduled for Sept. 26 between Notre Dame and Wake Forest, while the Duke’s Mayo Bowl will take place this bowl season on a date to be determined. The condiment brand replaces Belk as title sponsor for the games.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

• It was this week in 2010 that the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas announced it would host a new college basketball doubleheader by converting conference room space into a 3,500-seat arena. Organizer Lea Miller put together the inaugural event in 2010, which grew into the eight-team Battle 4 Atlantis beginning in 2011 and is considered arguably the best holiday tournament on the calendar.

ESPN airs the annual Battle 4 Atlantis, which is held in late November in Nassau

NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR SBJ GAME CHANGERS!

• Online nominations for Game Changers have opened. We’ll be accepting nominations through midnight June 21. The Game Changers event will be Oct. 27-28, and a special section will run in SBJ in the Oct. 19 issue.

Enjoying this newsletter? We've got more! Check out SBJ Media with John Ourand and SBJ Esports with Adam Stern and Trent Murray. Also check out the SBJ Unpacks newsletterevery Monday-Friday night, as we look at how the sports industry is being impacted by COVID-19.

Something on the College beat catch your eye? Tell us about it. Reach out to either me (msmith@sportsbusinessjournal.com) or Austin Karp (akarp@sportsbusinessjournal.com) and we'll share the best of it. Also contributing to this newsletter is Thomas Leary (tleary@sportsbusinessdaily.com).