Are we ever going to get a final decision on the massive NCAA settlement that's going to change college sports as we know it? The hope was that things would take a step forward by Wednesday's deadline, but instead, a different kind of update has arrived and it leaves things once again up in the air for the Ohio State Buckeyes and everyone else.
That update is that the attorneys who are handling the case for the NCAA have changed up some language in hopes of pleasing U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken. Essentially, the main difference now is that as part of this NCAA settlement, student-athletes who were previously cut from their teams or were expected to be cut can now be 'grandfathered in' so that they can stay on the rosters for the 2025-26 academic year and not count against a program's roster limit.
Seems confusing? That's because things are still in flux and final approval still needs to come in from Wilken. She essentially has the future of college athletics in her hands, as people across the country wait for a new decision to come in. Are these changes enough for her to hop on board?
The latest NCAA settlement update is expected to get some push back moving forward
"The grandfathered-in athletes are exempt from roster limits at any school in which they participate" Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger wrote shortly after the news dropped. "For instance, if their current school chooses against retaining them, those athletes who qualify to be grandfathered-in can transfer and remain exempt from their new school’s roster limits."
Per Dellenger, each program would be responsible for keeping track of the 'grandfathered-in' players who remain on active rosters. However, once that particular player's eligibility is completed, they'd then be taken off the list and that student-athlete would no longer be tied to the university.
The roster limit issue was a huge beef Wilken had, which forced the NCAA and its attorneys to go back to the drawing board. This is all part of the House Settlement the NCAA is hoping will be approved - this will allow for direct revenue sharing for college athletes starting on July 1. Without this new policy in place, thousands of college athletes across the country were going to lose their spots on programs. This is what Wilken wanted to prevent, which led to her decision in late April.
Moving forward, everyone is now going to wait on Wilken's decision. If she decides to finally approve things, it will provide a ton of relief for countless college coaches and athletic directors. If she denies things, though, it's going to cause even more chaos to arrive. Buckle up.