Bill Utsey

@GiVInvestment @FOS @readDanwrite @AnnieCostabile Am I reading science fiction? Schools are now either tapping private billionaire donors OR private equity to provide salaries to pay workers (athletes) to play a game so that their school can be competitive with others who do the same.

@FOS @readDanwrite @AnnieCostabile I mean, duh. It’s the new world. What’s the problem? Oh yeah, most schools don’t have a billionaire alum and they deny that PE can help them.

Virginia alum Alexis Ohanian infused millions into the women’s basketball program—now they're in their first Sweet 16 in nearly 30 years. Gone are the days of two or three powerhouses dominating women's hoops. These days, anyone can win—at a price. Story by @AnnieCostabile ⬇️

@NILnotNLI Profound statement of reality. AND evidence NIL & RevShare have no place in college sports. The introduction of Antitrust law (led by lawyers arguing college athletic programs are businesses) was short-sighted & illogical. These 3 elements are incompatible with college sports.

Since the NIL system was implemented, colleges and universities around the country have taken on massive debt in desperate attempts to pay players and remain competitive.  This is unsustainable. When universities prioritize payments over education, everyone loses.

@FOS @PardonMyTake Here's one of the GOATs. We'll put words proving the radical change Antitrust law has done to college sports. A legends words are wisdom speaking & evidence that Antitrust law should never have been applied to college sports.

Rick Pitino expressed his concerns with the current state of college basketball and the negative impact NIL is having on it. (🎥 via @PardonMyTake)

@AthleticsGreer @LadyJackets_GBB @GreerSpeed @Greer_High @YJSN1 @GreerNewsSports @Greer_Baseball @Greermbb_ @GreerRecruits @greerboyssoccer @CoachSmith_5 OORAH!!!

🎉Congratulations AD Josh Smith on earning the Certified Athletics Administration (CAA) Designation! This recognition honors athletic leaders who exemplify outstanding commitment to their programs and excel on a challenging national exam. Way to go, Coach Smith!🐝

When judging the logic of college athletes being paid pro-level salaries ask yourself: 1) If NIL/RevShare eliminated, would any athletes quit their team? & 2) Is it fair to other students, full scholarship or not, that athletes receive such salaries on top of their scholarships?

@WinterSportsLaw Dead right on this post. Although I am on the naive side, don't see them going back.

It’s a bit naive to believe college athletics will reign itself in. The “student athlete” model has been long gone, well before the House settlement & schools paying athletes. Have to either stop operating pro teams or operate them like pro teams. Can’t stay in limbo world.

@SenBillCassidy NIL/RevShare/transportal are not compatible with college sports. Antitrust law bore these antagonistic forces. Application of Antitrust law was illogical. Antitrust applies to businesses that make widgets. Colleges aren't in the widget business, they are in the learning business.

College sports is a multi-billion-dollar industry with ENORMOUS impact on places like Baton Rouge. But court decisions, lack of rules, and insufficient leadership have led college sports down a dangerous path. 

We have to PROTECT students! Holding a hearing on this today.

@SenBillCassidy No lack of rules! Schools/players did not like the rules & sued using your law (Antitrust) which vacated member agreed upon rules. BTW, college sports/colleges are NOT an industry/business. They are learning institutions & their sports are an extension of their institutions.

@WinterSportsLaw AGREE! But this gives private schools a significant advantage tippingvthe play surface...which is why an association made up of member schools is needed for governance to ensure equity/fairness/safety.

Public universities should have to disclose how much they’re paying athletes. Just like they disclose the salaries of every other university employee.

@NFHS_Org Just a thought...you guys ever invite those people next door to take a walk over to your place (connecting walkway!) to show them how to run a national athletic organization? They could sure learn a lot.

High school sports aren’t JUST about winning. They’re NOT about earning college scholarships. They’re NOT about going pro. If that is your focus, YOU’RE MISSING THE POINT.

@NFHS_Org The absolute truth!

@DouglasTS @slmandel Doesn't cap anything except the total operational budget. If a school wants more coaches, higher coach pay, higher player pay, or whatever...they have to fit that within the budget limit. We talkin' REAL PARITY!

@UtseyBill @slmandel Does the budget cap coaching and or player salaries?

Makes sense, but at that point why even have a cap? Your entire team is free agents ever year so none of them would count against it.

@MattBakerCFB Absolute truth! Not just changing, it's damaging the entire college sports landscape. Why? Because schools & players sued in court and won using Antitrust law. Antitrust law applies to labor and business (widget producers). Colleges do not produce widgets, they affect learning.

My point in brief: Everything about college sports is changing because players are getting paid. Yet we have very little public insight into how that works. Given the stakes (the future of the enterprise) and money (esp for state schools), that's an issue nytimes.com/athletic/71444…

Would you like to know how much your school is paying its quarterback? Or how much your rival is paying the guy it poached? Me, too! Unfortunately for us, schools treat such information as literal state secrets. I wrote about it...

@MattBakerCFB This well-written & thought-out article is another piece of evidence of the damage done to college sports by the application of Antitrust law. Proof that applying Antitrust law is both illogical and incompatible with learning institutions and college sports.

Here's why the lack of transparency around revenue-sharing matters to you. Not to me, a curious reporter who likes to FOIA. To you, as a taxpayer, student, parent of a student or just a fan or a school or sport. (Gift link): nytimes.com/athletic/71444…

@prizmski @ncmikes @CoachForGov Got great faith in Mormans...never known them to hate anything. They will adapt. Even still, I would be open to a religious waiver of one year. That would give them 4 years to play. Not open to injury waivers or service waivers or waivers for foreign players.

@UtseyBill @ncmikes @CoachForGov Morman’s will hate this and it will go to court. They want their kids to go convert the world for two years, then do college.

The transfer portal has screwed up college sports. My bill is simple: you get 5 consecutive years to play 5 seasons and you get 1 transfer. After that, if you transfer again, you sit out a year. This will fix 80% of the issues in NIL today.

@RichBurkeSME @SenTuberville @JakeCrain_ Should the player make money off the school's name? That's exactly what he/she is doing when they put that jersey on. They don't have any NIL value without the school's name or its image . . . or the scholarship they receive from the school.

@SenTuberville @JakeCrain_ Thank you for taking a stand on this issue. I understand argument for NIL - schools shouldn’t make $$ off a players name or prevent a player from making $$ on his/her own, but we need to find a way to eliminate collective payments if we are going to save college sports.

I agree @JakeCrain_. I’m all for players making money. But having a 25-year-old quarterback who graduated 3 years ago still competing in college is ridiculous. That’s why I introduced the Student-Athlete Act. It’s simple: you get 5 consecutive years to compete in 5 seasons, and you get 1 free transfer.

@marcisenberg There is mounting evidence, both factual and anecdotal, proving that the application of Antitrust law to college athletics was both illogical and, as is now more evident, incompatible. Look at the damage done by rulings on media contracts, NIL, and revenue sharing.

The NCAA’s greatest asset — essentially free labor generating billions — has become its greatest liability. My latest Substack: The ROI of Amateurism open.substack.com/pub/truthinnil…

@marcisenberg BIG difference between businesses & colleges. One is in the widget business, the other is in the learning business. College athletics started as & still is an extension & enhancement of learning for students. Applying Antitrust law to college sports is illogical & incompatible.

@bbd938 @marcisenberg correct!!!

@marcisenberg Stop playing the game, the NCAA is the schools, but you sound like the people that likes to blame the amorphous NCAA. The schools are the NCAA, any power the NCAA ever had & now doesn't have comes from them. The schools created this.

@SenTuberville 5 to play 5...NO! You know coaches having been one. They will quickly beg for 6 to play 5. Add an age rule!

College athletics used to be about education. Now it’s sadly all about money. More on the Student–Athlete Act, my bill to REIN IN the transfer portal, in my latest monthly column 👇