By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
The power conferences are putting together a contract that would bind schools to the rules and restrictions of the settlement terms in the House v. NCAA case, regardless of conflicting state laws.
The contract, which was reported by Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger on Monday, would require schools to waive their right to pursue legal action against the College Sports Commission, the legal entity created to govern the revamped athlete compensation rules in Division I sports.
The document would bind institutions to the enforcement policies of the settlement, even if their state law is contradictory, and would exempt the College Sports Commission from lawsuits from member schools over enforcement decisions. Instead, schools would have the option to pursue arbitration.
Dellenger adds that the document, described as an “affiliation” or “membership agreement,” is meant to be signed by all the power conference schools (and other schools opting into the settlement) in order to create stability around the enforcement of the rules.
In a stunning move, the power conferences have drafted a contract that would bind schools to new enforcement rules & require them to waive the right to sue over decisions, sources tell @YahooSports.
Schools not signing may risk conference eviction – t.co/ielFzieLBP
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) May 20, 2025
If a school does not sign the agreement, it risks the loss of conference membership and participation against other power conference schools.
“You have to sign it,” one athletic director who has seen the document told Yahoo! Sports, “or we don’t play you.”
“As a condition of membership, you must comply with the settlement and enforcement,” a power conference president with knowledge of the document added.
The document has been distributed to several school presidents, general counsels and presidents, and many have expressed legal concerns with the document, which Dellenger reports are now being refined.
The primary concern is the fact that by signing the document, the institution is agreeing that it won’t follow state law. That is particularly troublesome for state universities.
“Arbitration itself isn’t surprising but saying that you agree not to follow your state law … that may or may not be enforceable,” Gabe Feldman, a sports law professor at Tulane, told Yahoo! Sports. “No matter what the sides do, they’re going to be sued. This is an effort to rein in the lawsuits. It’s just not clear how enforceable all these provisions will be.”
Ramogi Huma, the executive director of the National College Players Association, said signing an agreement that exempts a state university from following its own state law “is particularly troubling.”
The document is being viewed as a way to combat Tennessee Senate Bill No. 536, which was was passed on May 1. Bill No. 536 would allow state schools (such as the University of Tennessee) and their affiliates to break House settlement rules and prevent the College Sports Commission from penalizing those schools. It would give the schools and third parties in the state protection in not following rules that may be subject to antitrust scrutiny.
A finalized version of the contract cannot be signed until Judge Claudia Wilken grants final approval to the House settlement, which could come down at any time, with May 16 marking the last day for responses to objections to the terms.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Power Conferences Drafting Contract Binding Schools To House Terms, Regardless of State Laws
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