The changes in collegiate athletics, namely big-time FBS football continue to make heads turn and stomachs churn just trying to keep up with it all. One more bit of news that was lobbed to the throng not too long ago was a settlement by the NCAA to allow payment of players.
It’s not mandatory, but the settlement allows member institutions that have the ability to do so, to share revenue with athletes up to a cap of 22%. With all of that in the mix, one might be wondering just how much Ohio State might want to pay to its athletes. If so, then good for those that have questions, because incoming athletic director, Ross Bjork touched on that subject with the Columbus Dispatch.
And … according to the man that will be running the athletic department beginning on July 1, we now know that OSU plans to pay atheltes the maximum.
“Absolutely,” Bjork told the Dispatch. “What we’re working on right now is what that plan looks like.”
The payments can be directly to the athletes, and under the terms of the settlement, those can begin in 2025. The 22% will increase by percentage points over the years.
“We know the percentage,” Bjork continued. “We know the rough calculation. We know there are escalators. That’s about all we know right now.”
If it’s not clear by those remarks, it should be. All that’s there is a framework right now with many things still to be ironed out. It is unknown how that money will be distrubuted and what percentage will go where. Ohio State has 36 varsity sports with over 1,000 athletes. OSU and Stanford are the two schools tied for the most varisty sports, but not all bring in the same revenue. In fact, most don’t bring in revenue at all with football and basketball really being the two main sports to fund everything else.
Bjork emphasized the role that Title IX will have for being fair to female sports and that the funds will most likely be disbursed to male and female athletes proportionate to the enrollment at the university, an arrangement that mirrors the allocation of scholarship money under the law. Currently, enrollment shows 52% female and 48% male at Ohio State during the last acadmeic year.
“We are committed to Title IX,” Bjork said. “We have to be. It’s the right thing. But it’s also federal law.”
Ohio State plans to participate in revenue sharing with its athletes if the legal settlement in the three antitrust cases against the NCAA is approved, incoming athletic director Ross Bjork told The Dispatch: https://t.co/wMiKHr3zw6
— Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) June 20, 2024
Still, how things break down among athletes and the different sports will most likely be disporpotionate, and Bjork understands that it is a complex matter.
“There are going to be hard decisions,” Bjork said, “because it’s a recalibration of the model.”
It appears the only thing that remains constant in college sports these days is the amount of change we continue to see. Don’t be surprised if we continue to see the model change even more as we gaze out into the future.
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