NCAA eyes ‘customer defense’ for NIL professional athletes

• Myron Medcalf, ESPN Personnel WriterApr 8, 2024, 09:47 PM ET

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  • Covers college basketball
  • Joined ESPN.com in 2011
  • Graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato

GLENDALE, Ariz.– NCAA president Charlie Baker stated he’s concentrated on producing a “customer defense system” for college professional athletes and their families so they can have a better understanding of name, image and similarity offers that are legitimate– and those that are fraudulent.Baker, who spoke to

press reporters prior to the start of the national championship game Monday, stated a multitude of athletes are basing NIL decisions on limited info about the legitimacy of the business and sponsors courting them.

“One piece, which we’ve been working on for a while, is what we call a customer protection package,” Baker said. “For the first time, some semblance of what the marketplace looks like so that student-athletes and their households can have some idea about whether what someone’s promising them or informing them is actually legit. The 2nd piece is to develop practically like a Yelp or a Trip Advisor that will provide student-athletes the ability to speak about third parties that do right by them and 3rd parties that don’t. I believe it’s unfortunate that for the a lot of part that entire space is sort of anonymous and I believe that puts, again, kids and households in a tough area.”

Baker also said he’s worried about the impact of prop-betting on collegiate sports. He stated he’s spoken directly with professional athletes who are concerned about the growing impact of sports betting in the collegiate area.

“I believe the prop-betting piece is enormously problematic for student-athletes and I’ve had a lot of them say that to me,” he said.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated He likewise praised the development of females’s basketball following another record-breaking minute when more than 18.7 million individuals enjoyed South Carolina’s victory over Iowa in the nationwide title game Sunday, and he required federal changes to resolve a few of the existing challenges with name, image and similarity in college sports.Last week, The Athletic reported that a group of college and professional sports executives have proposed the production of a European soccer-style system, as college sports continues to navigate a landscape that’s rapidly changing.The”very league”would separate the top 70 schools in college sports and eliminate conferences as they’re

currently set up. The system would likewise assemble departments and enable a second tier of 50 teams to complete to move into the”upper department,”similar to the relegation design in European professional soccer.Baker stated the schools must have the authority to decide on that principle.”That’s a choice that has got to be

made by the schools,”he said.”And I think, for the schools in specific, it

‘s most likely a decision that should be made by them. “