State university leaders kicked off efforts Monday to ensure college sports in Florida is competitive and sustainable amid the rapidly changing landscape of collegiate athletics.
The system’s Board of Governors' new Task Force on Intercollegiate Athletics held its first online conference call. Members grappled with how to tackle a host of issues that arose after litigation in recent years allowed athletes to receive payment for the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL), a split from the traditional amateur model held in place by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Ken Jones, founder of Keyhole Partners and chairman of the new panel, said the state needs to be prepared for changes to college sports, even if it may be “a while” before any federal directions are in place.
“I do think even if the federal government and Congress does come out with some guidance, there will still be a lot of room to maneuver at the margins to make sure that we're doing things that protect Florida, protect our athletes, and keep us in a competitive stance,” Jones said.
Florida Atlantic University Athletic Director Brian White and Florida International University Athletic Director Scott Carr, both members of the task force, expressed a need for Congress to provide a limited antitrust exemption to regulate NIL deals and shield schools and the NCAA from legal action to further address compensation restrictions.
“The biggest issues we have is we don't have a legally defendable model,” White said. “So, whatever we can advocate for at the state of Florida level, maybe we can collectively advocate.”
Further blurring the remaining lines between amateur and professional athletics, Jones estimated that Florida schools could see between $3 billion and $5 billion annually in endorsements, collectives, media ventures, and licensing tied to NIL economic activity.
The task force is moving forward in the wake of President Donald Trump’s “Saving College Sports” meeting, held March 6. Near the end of the two-hour discussion, Trump said he would write an executive order “within one week” that would be “very all-encompassing.”
“We're going to put it forward, and we're going to get sued, and we're going to see how it plays,” Trump said. “But I'll have an executive order, which will solve every problem in this room, every conceivable problem, within one week, and we'll put it forward. We will get sued. That's the only thing I know for sure."
On Friday, Trump did sign an executive order involving college football, but it didn’t address the larger issues discussed in the meeting. The order directed the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Commerce to coordinate a national broadcast blackout of any other college football games during the second Saturday in December besides the Army-Navy football game.
Trump’s meeting, with Gov. Ron DeSantis and Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the co-chairmen, included about 50 government, college and sports officials and leaders. The state Board of Governors’ agenda noted that Florida A&M University basketball head coach Charlie Ward and New College of Florida Trustee Urban Meyer were in attendance.
Florida State University Board of Trustees Chairman Peter Collins said Monday there is a need for the college athletic system nationally to have firm guidelines that include penalties for violators of NIL or revenue sharing.
“I don't think we need more money. I think we need more control. I think we need an antitrust exemption,” Collins said. “I do think that we need a commission that has very clear rules. There's penalties. None of us want to be penalized. But we all want penalties if the rules aren't followed. Because if there's no penalties, the rules aren't going to be followed. There's too many players out there.”
Anticipating a federal judge to rule against any executive order issued by Trump, Collins said more than 140 FSU student-athletes have NIL deals in place. Collins put the average deal around $4,000 to $5,000. “It’s not in the millions of dollars,” Collins said.
Jones outlined a series of goals for the group to accomplish.
The top priority was establishing policies compliant with evolving federal law and NCAA guidance, but also competitive with other states. Jones put an emphasis on Texas, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Second was building an NIL system that expands opportunities across all sports and is compliant with the federal Title IX law banning gender discrimination.
Third, education: providing student-athletes with financial literacy, contract and brand management knowledge, and career development skills as they move out of collegiate sports.
Jones also talked about the need to maintain programs that serve as a pipeline for Olympic athletes.
“Longevity matters and we can't do something to the short-term advantage that costs us long term stability,” Jones said.
Last June, Florida university system leaders made up to $22.5 million available as a loan or transfer for the next three years for each state university to share revenues with athletes.
The money was intended to help carry out a new revenue-sharing model with athletes under a national legal settlement in a case known as House v. NCAA.
The settlement, approved June 6 by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of the Northern District of California, in part established a 10-year model for NCAA Division I schools to expand rosters and directly pay athletes for NIL.
Board of Governors Chairman Alan Levine told the task force members that if Congress doesn’t act there may be steps states can take through an interstate compact to protect state government actions from federal antitrust laws.
“There is a pathway to do this,” Levine said. “It's far easier for Congress to do it. But if they won't, then states can take it into their own hands.”
