Analysis

6/21/21

3 min read

The Week Ahead: Important Dates on the College Sports Calendar

The start of the college football season is still two months away, but there is a lot going on behind the scenes. The next two weeks have the potential to vastly change the landscape of college sports forever. Here are some important dates you need to know:

June 21: Supreme Court ruling

The Supreme Court on Monday unanimously affirmed the 9th circuit’s decision in NCAA v. Alston. The Court found that the NCAA could not limit education-related benefits, meaning things like computers, graduate school and vocational school tuition, internships, and academic achievement awards.

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June 22-23: NIL Vote

The NCAA’s Division I Council will be meeting to, among other things, vote on NIL legislation. While it is crucial for the Council to vote on these rules before NIL bills go into effect in six states on July 1, many believe the vote on the legislation may be delayed again depending on when the Supreme Court releases its decision and what that decision says. On June 18, NCAA President Mark Emmert sent a memo to the NCAA's respective schools saying that if rules are not in place by July, he will develop temporary policies himself with the assistance of the NCAA’s Board of Governors, the NCAA’s highest governance body. Emmert also emphasized that it was imperative to prevent inequity between student-athletes whose states have NIL provisions and those who do not. On July 1, NIL laws will go into effect in Texas, Mississippi, New Mexico, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.

June 22-23: College Football Playoff meeting

The College Football Playoff Management Committee (which consists of the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick) will be meeting with the CFP’s Board of Managers, which is comprised of 12 university presidents. The two groups will be meeting in Dallas to discuss the potential playoff expansion. The Board of Managers has the final say as to whether or not the 12-team proposal will be put to a vote.

Once the Board comes to a conclusion regarding the expansion -- and if they decide to move forward with it -- the final step will involve various discussions with school presidents, players, coaches and ADs to help nail down the specifics, which will then lead to a format that will be voted on in September. The 12-team expansion has several pros and cons, but if it were to be implemented, the earliest we could see the playoff change would be in 2023.

July 1: NIL Era Begins

Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida and New Mexico's NIL legislation will go into effect.

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