LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – The world of college athletics is at a crossroads when it comes to how student athletes receive payments directly from universities. The latest development features Texas Tech and its response to a new proposal.
While the door opened in 2021 for athletes to be compensated for their Name, Image and Likeness, this June saw what’s known as the House Settlement or House V. NCAA.
This gave way to a 10-year revenue sharing program and allowed athletic programs to allocate $20.5 million dollars to student athletes per year across all sports.
In order to make sure these rules were followed and any possible infractions were handled fairly, the College Sports Commission was created. For months, the commission has worked with the ACC, SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 conferences on an agreement that would iron out the details.
On November 19, the full 11-page University Participation Agreement was sent by conferences to their respective schools. Among points detailed in the 35 sections, universities will have to fully comply with commission investigations with little flexibility, waive the right to a jury trial, and are not allowed to file or encourage others like an attorney general to file lawsuits against the College Sports Commission.
If a university were to bring a lawsuit against the commission or break any parts of the agreement, they could lose all revenue from its conference for the next fiscal year and not be eligible for post-season play in the sports involved in that particular investigation.
On November 22, Eric Bentley, Vice Chancellor and General Counsel for Texas Tech, shared a memo to board of regents chairman Cody Campbell, explaining why the university should not sign this agreement.
Bentley had a problem with 19 different sections in some fashion, ranging from vagueness on how certain items would be enforced to wide-ranging overreaches on enforcement.
Campbell then wrote on social media that while Tech is in strong support of the house settlement and wants to bring stability to college sports, the university will not be signing the agreement under its current form.
Notably, many clauses only apply if they do not conflict with existing state law. While there is no hard deadline on when the commission wants these agreements signed, it’s hoping universities will sign it within the next two weeks.
This comes as the early signing window for football opens December 3rd and the college transfer portal opens January 2nd, 2026. The agreement will not go into effect unless every school signs.
Campbell finished his statement on X saying he is inviting and encouraging a constructive conversation around a revised set of rules and regulations, and is looking for a “legal and workable solution.”
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