Latest news with #DivisionI
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
College football leaders revisit moving up season to Week Zero
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — College leaders are again exploring an earlier football kickoff date. Executives this week re-examined an issue that has, for years, been under discussion: making Week Zero a permanent playing date for college football teams. FBS leaders held more conversations on the long-discussed concept during the annual three-day gathering of Division I conference commissioners here this week. Advertisement Commissioners expect the conversation to continue in the coming weeks and months. While there is growing support for the move, no formal proposal has been introduced. That's not the case for FCS. The division is expected to formalize a proposal that permits schools to begin playing on Week Zero — a decision that would add a 12th regular season game to the schedule starting in 2026. For FBS, the decision is more complex. Some do not support shifting the season-opening week from Labor Day weekend — a holiday coinciding with a smorgasbord of college football. However, such a move creates an additional bye week for teams that choose to play on what would be the new Week 1 — an incentive that provides more rest during a college football season that continues to get extended. Advertisement 'My view is we should have a consistent start date,' SEC commissioner Greg Sankey told Yahoo Sports on Thursday. 'The adage is, teams make their most substantial improvement between Games 1 and 2. I think we should have a consistent start date. Labor Day weekend has been a good start date for college football. 'The fact we are taking another look at it could be interesting,' Sankey said of permanently playing on Week Zero. 'I'm not opposed to that. I want to make sure it's a broad view of the issues and not something narrow.' For now, schools wanting to play on Week Zero must be granted a waiver by NCAA governance committees. Under NCAA bylaw 17.11.4, FBS teams cannot play their first game until the Thursday before Labor Day. However, an exception to the rule was instituted in 2016 (NCAA bylaw 17.11.4.1), allowing Hawaii and teams that visit Hawaii the option to play on the Saturday before Labor Day weekend. Two years ago, there was the introduction of a foreign travel exemption (NCAA bylaw 17.11.4.3), allowing Navy to face Notre Dame in Dublin, Ireland. Advertisement Eliminating waivers across all NCAA areas has been a focal point for university leadership over the last several years, as they often result in difficult-to-defend legal challenges. 'We had a good discussion about the calendar and a uniform start date for FBS instead of continuing to deal with waiver requests, case by case,' American commissioner Tim Pernetti told Yahoo Sports. 'A consistent start date is a key element to the future of FBS.' Whether that standard start date will be in its current position or move up a week remains murky. Over the last three years, Week Zero has been central to discussions related to a long-discussed shift of the regular season by a week. Three years ago, College Football Playoff leaders spent several meetings discussing moving up the regular season by a week, which would shift rivalry games off of Thanksgiving, make conference championship weekend on that holiday and free up an extra weekend in December to hold rounds of a rapidly expanding playoff. Advertisement The latest conversations around Week Zero are, for now, not centered on a full shift in the regular season, though some hope, eventually, that will happen. The move from FCS to begin regularly playing on Week Zero may serve as a trigger for FBS. The two divisions often hold games against one another early in the season — quasi-preseason games for power programs looking to fine-tune a new team before bigger matchups on Labor Day weekend and beyond. Week Zero has been a popular playing date for a handful of teams, though the number is declining. Twelve games involving an FBS team were played on Week Zero in 2022. There are four FBS games scheduled for Week Zero this year — the same as last season.
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
College football leaders rehashing moving up season to Week Zero
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — College leaders are again exploring an earlier football kickoff date. Executives this week re-examined an issue that has, for years, been under discussion: making Week Zero a permanent playing date for college football teams. FBS leaders held more conversations on the long-discussed concept during the annual three-day gathering of Division I conference commissioners here this week. Advertisement Commissioners expect the conversation to continue in the coming weeks and months. While there is growing support for the move, no formal proposal has been introduced. That's not the case for FCS. The division is expected to formalize a proposal that permits schools to begin playing on Week Zero — a decision that would add a 12th regular season game to the schedule starting in 2026. For FBS, the decision is more complex. Some do not support shifting the season-opening week from Labor Day weekend — a holiday coinciding with a smorgasbord of college football. However, such a move creates an additional bye week for teams that choose to play on what would be the new Week 1 — an incentive that provides more rest during a college football season that continues to get extended. Advertisement 'My view is we should have a consistent start date,' SEC commissioner Greg Sankey told Yahoo Sports on Thursday. 'The adage is, teams make their most substantial improvement between Games 1 and 2. I think we should have a consistent start date. Labor Day weekend has been a good start date for college football. 'The fact we are taking another look at it could be interesting,' Sankey said of permanently playing on Week Zero. 'I'm not opposed to that. I want to make sure it's a broad view of the issues and not something narrow.' For now, schools wanting to play on Week Zero must be granted a waiver by NCAA governance committees. Under NCAA bylaw 17.11.4, FBS teams cannot play their first game until the Thursday before Labor Day. However, an exception to the rule was instituted in 2016 (NCAA bylaw 17.11.4.1), allowing Hawaii and teams that visit Hawaii the option to play on the Saturday before Labor Day weekend. Two years ago, there was the introduction of a foreign travel exemption (NCAA bylaw 17.11.4.3), allowing Navy to face Notre Dame in Dublin, Ireland. Advertisement Eliminating waivers across all NCAA areas has been a focal point for university leadership over the last several years, as they often result in difficult-to-defend legal challenges. 'We had a good discussion about the calendar and a uniform start date for FBS instead of continuing to deal with waiver requests, case by case,' American commissioner Tim Pernetti told Yahoo Sports. 'A consistent start date is a key element to the future of FBS.' Whether that standard start date will be in its current position or move up a week remains murky. Over the last three years, Week Zero has been central to discussions related to a long-discussed shift of the regular season by a week. Three years ago, College Football Playoff leaders spent several meetings discussing moving up the regular season by a week, which would shift rivalry games off of Thanksgiving, make conference championship weekend on that holiday and free up an extra weekend in December to hold rounds of a rapidly expanding playoff. Advertisement The latest conversations around Week Zero are, for now, not centered on a full shift in the regular season, though some hope, eventually, that will happen. The move from FCS to begin regularly playing on Week Zero may serve as a trigger for FBS. The two divisions often hold games against one another early in the season — quasi-preseason games for power programs looking to fine-tune a new team before bigger matchups on Labor Day weekend and beyond. Week Zero has been a popular playing date for a handful of teams, though the number is declining. Twelve games involving an FBS team were played on Week Zero in 2022. There are four FBS games scheduled for Week Zero this year — the same as last season.
USA Today
4 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Re-ranking all 18 Big Ten football stadiums from worst to first
Re-ranking all 18 Big Ten football stadiums from worst to first Only nine weeks remain until the 2025 college football season kicks off in Dublin, Ireland, with Iowa State vs. Kansas State. Past that, we're less than 10 weeks away from the Big Ten season, which begins on Thursday, Aug. 28, with Wisconsin vs. Miami (OH), Rutgers vs. Ohio, Minnesota vs. Buffalo and Nebraska at Cincinnati. Unlike last year, the Big Ten did not undergo significant changes this offseason. June 2024 was spent projecting the upcoming performance of new members USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington, plus how those respective performances will impact the conference landscape. The answer: Oregon won the conference title, USC and Washington moderately struggled, though each made a bowl game, and UCLA showed steady growth under first-year coach DeShaun Foster. That landscape has significantly more clarity entering 2025, now that each former Pac-12 power has a year as a Big Ten member. Specifically, one facet that gained clarity in 2024 is how the West Coast locations compare to the Big Ten's classic football venues. All four new locations showed well, with one doing so more than the rest. For more, here is where each falls in our updated Big Ten football stadium power rankings, Summer 2025 edition. 18. SHI Stadium (Rutgers Scarlet Knights) Capacity: 52,454 Opened: 1994 Rutgers' stadium lacks any distinctive characteristic, other than it being located nearly 3,000 miles away from Eugene, Oregon. Cross-country travel is the biggest headline when the West Coast members visit the Scarlet Knights. 17. SECU Stadium (Maryland Terrapins) Capacity: 51,802 Opened: 1950 Maryland's stadium, like Rutgers', lacks a clear identity. The building will be 75 years old in 2025 and has some history -- it has hosted 10 Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships. It doesn't have much for football history, however. 16. Ross-Ade Stadium (Purdue Boilermakers) Capacity: 57,236 Opened: 1924 Don't mistake these bottom-tier rankings as a statement that the stadiums are poor. Now that Northwestern's old Ryan Field is gone, no program in the conference has a truly 'bad' home venue. Ross-Ade Stadium has a clear identity when Purdue is good, especially during the Jeff Brohm era from 2017-22. Still, the building itself leaves a lot to be desired. The stadium is more than 100 years old, and it shows. 15. Huntington Bank Stadium (Minnesota Golden Gophers) Capacity: 50,805 Opened: 2009 Minnesota's Huntington Bank Stadium has a chance to rise in these rankings. Its on-campus location and clear college feel are far superior to the program's former home in the Metrodome from 1982-2008. 14. Memorial Stadium (Illinois Fighting Illini) Capacity: 60,670 Opened: 1923 Illinois just delivered arguably the best season in Memorial Stadium history in 2024, finishing with 10 wins and a No. 16 national ranking. The stadium itself is fine -- it blends in with many other Midwest venues. Illinois delivering on sky-high expectations in 2025 could see the stadium's in-game environment improve, which would help this ranking. 14. Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium (Northwestern Wildcats) Capacity: 12,023 Opened: 2024 (temporary) Northwestern's temporary lakefront venue is almost as much of a practice field as it is a Big Ten football stadium. However, it deserves points for its unique feel. The views of Lake Michigan are terrific and the stadium environment is far better than the old Ryan Field, even with a 12,000-seat capacity and high ticket prices. 12. Memorial Stadium (Indiana Hoosiers) Capacity: 52,626 Opened: 1960 Indiana's stadium falls into a category with Illinois: Midwest venues that all feel and look the same. Indiana's Memorial Stadium has a bit more potential than the Illini's Memorial Stadium, due to the fan turnout and enthusiasm during Curt Cignetti's record-setting first year in charge. This venue is one to watch entering 2025. 11. Spartan Stadium (Michigan State Spartans) Capacity: 75,005 Opened: 1923 Spartan Stadium is a Big Ten classic. It creates a unique gameday feel, which is an important data point for this ranking. Michigan State's biggest issue at the moment is catching back up to the conference's best. Get more (Michigan State) news, analysis and opinions on Spartans Wire 10. L.A Memorial Coliseum (USC Trojans) Capacity: 77,500 Opened: 1923 L.A. Memorial Coliseum would rank among the top venues in the Big Ten if all non-football events were considered. The venue has hosted two Summer Olympics (1932 and 1984 -- plus another upcoming in 2028), the Los Angeles Rams (1946-79, 2016-19), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1958-61), a Super Bowl (I) and more. Unfortunately, USC football struggles to bring the same terrific in-game environment that those events did. Get more (USC) news, analysis and opinions on Trojans Wire 9. Michigan Stadium (Michigan Wolverines) Capacity: 107,601 Opened: 1927 As we noted last year, Michigan Stadium is the most overrated of any venue in the sport. It is the largest stadium in the country. But since the stadium was built out more than up, a significant chunk of those seats are located a significant distance from the field itself. Michigan's program history and success give this building significant history, which counts for this ranking. But the actual in-game environment is not close to the conference's best. Get more (Michigan) news, analysis and opinions on Wolverines Wire 8. Memorial Stadium (Nebraska Cornhuskers) Capacity: 85,458 Opened: 1923 Nebraska's Memorial Stadium can be one of the sport's best venues when the Cornhuskers are good. Of course, the program has performed below expectations nearly every year since joining the Big Ten in 2011. The venue's ranking receives a minor downgrade for the quantity of empty seats during the program's record sellout streak. Get more (Nebraska) news, analysis and opinions on Cornhuskers Wire 7. Kinnick Stadium (Iowa Hawkeyes) Capacity: 69,250 Opened: 1929 Kinnick Stadium has become a Big Ten classic. It creates a fantastic in-game environment, has a clear identity and importantly, has established a terrific tradition in the 'Hawkeye Wave.' Its No. 7 ranking has a lot to do with the quality of the conference's other venues. Get more (Iowa) news, analysis and opinions on Hawkeyes Wire 6. Husky Stadium (Washington Huskies) Capacity: 70,138 Opened: 1920 It's hard to beat Husky Stadium's backdrop, architecture, in-game environment and history. The stadium should be an immediate addition to any Big Ten fan's must-visit list. It's one of the true gems of the sport. Get more (Washington) news, analysis and opinions on Huskies Wire 5. Camp Randall Stadium (Wisconsin Badgers) Capacity: 80,321 Opened: 1917 Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium checks every necessary box. It is unique, rich with history, fosters a terrific in-game environment and has well-known traditions. All that the venue is missing is a College Football Playoff game or two -- an event that will showcase it on a national stage. 4. Autzen Stadium (Oregon Ducks) Capacity: 54,000 Opened: 1967 Autzen Stadium was on full display in 2024 as the Ducks went 13-0 during the regular season and captured the Big Ten title. Its atmosphere is impressive for a 54,000-seat stadium. Thanks to that environment and the team being a perennial conference contender, it should continue to be one of the toughest places to play in the sport. Get more (Oregon) news, analysis and opinions on Ducks Wire 3. Beaver Stadium (Penn State Nittany Lions) Capacity: 106,572 Opened: 1960 Beaver Stadium's atmosphere and the home-field advantage it creates are second to none. The stadium combines sheer size with distinct architecture that gives it a unique feel -- different from Michigan Stadium. Penn State's CFP win over SMU last season saw Beaver Stadium at its peak. Get more (Penn State) news, analysis and opinions on Nittany Lions Wire 2. Ohio Stadium (Ohio State Buckeyes) Capacity: 102,780 Opened: 1922 Not much needs to be written about Ohio Stadium. Like Beaver Stadium, it puts unique touches on a 100,000-seat stadium. That creates one of the best gameday environments in the world, regardless of the sport. Get more (Ohio State) news, analysis and opinions on Buckeyes Wire 1. Rose Bowl Stadium (UCLA Bruins) Capacity: 89,702 Opened: 1922 This ranking doesn't have much to do with the Rose Bowl during UCLA home games, which can often lack energy and volume. The ranking also considers the Rose Bowl Game, arguably the best annual event on the college football calendar. The stadium would rank closer to the L.A. Coliseum if the Rose Bowl game were ignored. Get more (UCLA) news, analysis and opinions on UCLA Wire Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
Daily Mail
21 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Olympic sports at NCAA face cuts after bombshell court ruling
As predicted by several groups of NCAA coaches, major universities are already slashing Olympic sports programs after a recent federal court decision allowing schools to pay student athletes. Last week, U.S. Judge Claudia Wilken approved a $2.8 billion settlement nearly five years after Arizona State swimmer Grant House sued the NCAA to lift restrictions on revenue sharing. Wilken's approval permits schools to share up to $20.5 million with athletes over the next year, while also allowing $2.7 billion to be paid to former players previously barred from receiving such payments. Although one of House's attorneys described the ruling as 'a fantastic win for hundreds of thousands of college athletes,' there remain concerns about the future of non-revenue and Olympic sports, such as track and field or wrestling. Those fears appeared to come to fruition on Tuesday as Washington State drastically consolidated its track-and-field program and the University of Louisiana Monroe cut its women's tennis team entirely. In total, 32 Division I Olympic sports programs have been slashed since May, when the House settlement was first announced. And that doesn't include St. Francis, a Pennsylvania college that recently announced its decision to move from Division I to Division III in anticipation of the new financial landscape in college sports. Last week, critics predicted the ruling would lead sports programs being cut by schools. 'We are concerned that the new financial obligations placed on schools will force administrators to divert their attention and resources away from non-football and non-basketball sports – the programs where the majority of NCAA student-athletes participate,' the coaching associations for volleyball, wrestling, track and field, and swimming and diving wrote in last week's statement. 'This is no hypothetical. Budget cuts and program eliminations have already taken place in anticipation of today's outcome, and more are likely to follow.' The next programs to face the chopping block could be track-and-field or swimming-and-diving teams, as US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association representative Nick Lieggi told Front Office Sports. 'Schools can drop their jumping and throwing program or their diving program, getting rid of the relevant coaches and athletes, without having to worry about their sport sponsorship numbers,' Lieggi said. The exact impact of the court ruling on NCAA sports is difficult to quantify. Neither Washington State nor Louisiana Monroe blamed it for their respective cost-cutting moves, although both are impacted by the ruling. Coaching associations in the Olympic sports, such as tennis or track, are continuing to fight this trend. According to FOS, several have hired lobbying firm FGS Global to work on their behalf. 'Congress must intervene to address these pressing issues and ensure a balanced, equitable path forward for all student-athletes, including the protection of existing requirements of schools to maintain robust sport sponsorship and meaningful allocation of resources for non-football and non-basketball programs,' read an FGS Global statement following last week's ruling.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump travel ban, new revenue-sharing model create uncertainty for international college athletes
Moses Jean-Pierre is the son of two Haitian immigrants. He grew up near Boston, where his mother would cook for any child in the neighborhood who looked hungry, regardless of whether the family knew them. His parents were the 'cornerstone' of their West Cambridge, Mass. community, Jean-Pierre said, and so before his parents died in 2017 and 2019, he promised them he would honor their roots and continue giving back to Haitian communities. About a decade ago, Jean-Pierre founded Hoops for Haiti, a nonprofit that mentors youth in Haiti and Haitian communities in the U.S. and elsewhere. The organization offers basketball and other initiatives in education and mental health to facilitate better opportunities, including high school and college athletics in the U.S. Advertisement 'Some of the kids already come from trauma in Haiti, and coming here legally, this was their dream,' Jean-Pierre said. 'I've never seen them so happy to have an opportunity.' That mission has encountered sudden and significant change due to Haiti's inclusion in a recent proclamation issued by President Donald Trump that restricts travel to the U.S. Haiti is one of 12 fully restricted countries; another seven have partial restrictions. 'It's been very, very, very difficult within this process because I get the tears, I have some students who have gone through so much,' said Jean-Pierre. 'For me and some of those other kids who are in Haiti, I have to start looking at, 'Maybe the U.S. is not the place to go right now.'' Jean-Pierre's focus is on one of the 19 newly restricted countries, but his sentiment extends to a much broader group of young people facing similar uncertainty: international college athletes. Advertisement The travel ban features exceptions for athletes traveling to the U.S. for major sporting events such as the ongoing Concacaf Gold Cup or next summer's FIFA World Cup, but international college athletes are not specified in the listed exemptions. The Trump administration described the restrictions as 'necessary to garner cooperation from foreign governments' and enforce immigration laws, among other reasons. Trump in the proclamation cited visa overstay rates as a reason to restrict travel from Haiti. The restrictions came during a U.S. pause on all new student visa applications, which was lifted on Wednesday, and just as college sports is establishing a new financial model under the recently approved House settlement, which allows Division I schools to begin sharing revenue directly with college athletes on July 1. International college athletes, the vast majority of whom are on F-1 student visa classifications, are eligible to receive revenue sharing under the terms of the settlement. But schools and athletes will have to consider how this new system aligns with student visas that do not authorize employment, against a backdrop of heightened attention on U.S. immigration. As written, the U.S. travel restrictions, mostly for countries in Africa and the Middle East, should directly impact only a small percentage of current international college athletes. The most recent NCAA data estimates there were roughly 23,000 international college athletes across all divisions in 2023-24. That equals about 4 percent of all college athletes, only a sliver of whom hail from the 19 restricted countries. The NCAA's data on athlete country of origin, last updated in 2022, counted athletes from 12 of the 19 impacted countries, but only two produced more than a dozen athletes that year: Haiti (24) and Venezuela (126). Canada, for comparison, had the most international students with 4,408. Advertisement In addition to the travel exceptions for athletes and team members to major sporting events, there are also exceptions for existing visa holders, and anyone currently in the U.S. on a visa should not be at risk of being detained, even if their visa has lapsed since last entering the country, according to immigration attorneys. Any additional exceptions, including the designation of major sporting events, will be at the discretion of the Secretary of State, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State. Because of the caveats for existing visa holders, the international college athletes most likely to be impeded by the ban would be those who need a U.S. visa, either new athletes or current athletes from the banned countries who might have traveled home for the summer on an expired visa. Many others, however, are feeling the ripple effects. Jean-Pierre described his inability to bring a 6-foot-8, 16-year-old athlete to a high school in Florida due to the travel ban, despite nearly a year of planning and just before his visa was expected. Advertisement 'Right now the change has been the disappointment of this kid coming to a school in Florida that's predominantly a lot of Haitian kids and an opportunity to assemble with his community in the U.S. and (not only) get an education but be a productive member of society,' Jean-Pierre said. 'And to have that taken away is very disheartening. But I'm not gonna give up.' The athlete, whom is not naming because he is a minor, said in a message that he was 'devastated' to hear about the ban and isn't sure what's next. He will remain in Haiti for the time being. 'I felt bad and that saddened me because I finally saw an opportunity to do something big with my talent to help my family,' he wrote of no longer being able to attend school in Florida, where he was planning to play basketball. 'I will continue praying and trusting God, but for now I am lost.' Others affected by the travel bans have been hesitant to speak out publicly on the matter, even if they are currently in the U.S. One current international Division I athlete told in a social media message that he is currently stuck in Canada and 'not allowed to enter back into the United States.' made multiple requests to speak with current college athletes from countries included in the travel ban, but each was declined due to the sensitivity of the situation. Advertisement The NCAA has not publicly spoken about the travel and visa restrictions and declined to comment for this story. Recent reports indicate that the travel ban could expand to as many as 36 additional countries, most of which are in Africa. That includes Nigeria, Egypt and Ghana, each of which was estimated to have more than 70 NCAA athletes as of 2022. South Sudan is also on the list of 36 additional countries, just months after the U.S. State Department took actions to revoke existing visas and halted the issuance of new visas for South Sudanese passport holders. Announced during the Final Four of the NCAA men's basketball Tournament in early April, that ban made headlines regarding then-Duke freshman Khaman Maluach, a native of South Sudan. Maluach has since declared for the NBA Draft, which will be held next week in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he is expected to be a top-10 selection. Maluach was recruited to Duke through the NBA Academy Africa, a training center in Senegal for top African prospects. The NBA told it is currently advising Maluach on the visa and immigration process, as it does for all international players and draft prospects. According to the NBA, it does not have any active players or projected draft picks from the 19 countries with travel restrictions, but the league and its international academies work closely with the State Department and abide by U.S. law and policy. Advertisement Multiple immigration attorneys told they are advising international college students on the matter. 'I do not want my international athletes traveling abroad unless it's a true emergency,' said Ksenia Maiorova, an attorney with Green and Spiegel law firm who advises universities, athletic departments and international college students on immigration issues. 'It's just not worth the risk.' Beyond the existing restrictions and possibility that more countries could be added, the nearly month-long pause on processing student visa applications likely created a backlog that could slow the overall process in the immediate future, along with the new State Department directive that applicants will be asked to make their social media accounts public and screened for perceived 'hostility' directed at the United States. The Trump administration is also in a legal battle with Harvard over an edict to bar all international students from attending the university. And according to Maiorova, a valid visa does not guarantee admission into the United States. Advertisement 'In addition to the bans, you have to consider that a student-athlete could just be denied entry on a valid visa even if there is no ban,' she said. 'They present themselves at the border, have a conversation with a (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) officer, and that officer determines whether or not to admit. If that officer determines for whatever reason the student-athlete is not maintaining their status or in violation of U.S. immigration law, they could refuse admission and revoke the visa and send them back. There's no real due process in that scenario.' Aaron Blumberg, an attorney with Fragomen law firm who also advises universities and students on immigration issues, added that even though the pause on student visas has been lifted, it still increases the possibility that any international student, regardless of country, may not secure a visa as quickly as they had hoped. 'The pause happened in the heart of peak season to obtain a student visa,' said Blumberg. 'I'm sure there are summer workouts starting for programs that might not have every international team member in time.' The House settlement has introduced another potential concern. Most student visas offer very limited labor and employment authorization on U.S. soil. Prior to the settlement's approval, this forced international college athletes to find creative workarounds in order to collect name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation from third-party entities, such as former Kentucky men's basketball player Oscar Tshiebwe completing his NIL deliverables during an offseason trip to the Bahamas in 2022. Advertisement Terms of the House settlement alter that landscape by allowing schools to distribute revenue sharing directly to athletes beginning next month. Some legal experts argue that international athletes are eligible to receive those funds because they are considered royalties or passive income (as opposed to labor), which is allowable under a traditional F-1 student visa. NCAA president Charlie Baker told Yahoo Sports last week that he believes international college athletes can receive revenue sharing from schools, but that the NCAA 'still has some work to do' and is seeking legal counsel. Sources familiar with the House settlement and newly created College Sports Commission oversight told that schools are eligible to distribute revenue sharing to international athletes as they see fit, but it is a school's responsibility to evaluate how that could impact an athlete's visa status. 'The (revenue sharing) agreements use all this magic language to make it sound a lot less like compensation for the availability of the student-athlete to play sports at a certain school,' Maiorova said. 'They don't call it a salary or employment or labor, but it can be construed as compensation for their services as an athlete.' Maiorova's concern is that the Trump administration or the Department of Homeland Security could interpret revenue sharing with international athletes in this way, and possibly even target certain universities, which could then trigger student visa issues across the country. Advertisement 'Some schools don't seem to be aware of how close they might be to triggering those (labor) provisions,' said Maiorova, 'because they are getting advice that as long as they refer to the revenue sharing as royalties or passive income (for international athletes), they will be fine. Which, in my opinion, is horrendous legal advice.' It's why Maiorova and Blumberg are advising college athletes to seek alternative, work-approved visa designations such as P-1a visas for athletes who are internationally recognized or O-1 visas for people with 'extraordinary ability.' But those options are more expensive and tougher to get approved. Maiorova is currently representing Last-Tear Poa, an Australia native and women's college basketball player who recently transferred from LSU to Arizona State. Poa filed a lawsuit in Louisiana against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) after her application for a P-1a visa was denied last year. '(University) compliance departments have gotten comfortable pushing the envelope with NCAA enforcement, but DHS is not the entity you want to play that game with,' said Maiorova. A State Department spokesperson said that each visa applicant is reviewed individually based on U.S. law, and that the department cannot comment on or anticipate how the House settlement will or will not affect visa adjudications. For inquiries about the status of student visa holders in the U.S., the State Department defers to the Department of Homeland Security. Advertisement U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), USCIS and the White House directed requests for guidance on the matter to the State Department. 'There are so many different things all going on at once that are making it really challenging for international students, for colleges and for their athletic teams,' said Blumberg. 'That could be a continuing trend for the foreseeable future.' This article originally appeared in The Athletic. College Football, Men's College Basketball, Women's College Basketball 2025 The Athletic Media Company
