NCAA Seeks To Control NIL Madness This March, Signals Changes In Enforcement

The Bottom Line

• Recent moves by the NCAA signal a more aggressive approach to NIL rules enforcement.
• The change in bylaws dramatically increases the likelihood of the NCAA finding violations.
• Institutions, marketers and student-athletes need to remain vigilant and disciplined about structuring NIL deals and carefully monitoring contacts to avoid ending up as a target of the NCAA and its new president.

While sports fans, bettors and office pool organizers turn their attention to the basketball court this March for another month of madness, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) itself is turning its attention back to name, image and likeness (NIL) rights for student-athletes. After a series of losses culminating in the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in NCAA v. Alston, the NCAA seemingly stepped back from aggressive public enforcement of impermissible benefits to student-athletes rules violations. Following Alston, the NCAA issued an interim