The Ivy League announced Tuesday that it will opt out of the proposed NCAA settlement with current and former college student-athletes, saying in an email that it will decline to provide direct compensation to its athletes through revenue sharing.
In the email, which Ivy League executive director Robin Harris sent to athletes and coaches, Harris wrote that the Ivy League will continue its policy of not partaking in “pay for play” deals for student-athletes.
According to The Harvard Crimson, Harris said that the Ivy League Council of Presidents has approved the decision.
Harris said that the Ivy League “remains committed to its foundational principles and longstanding rules that intentionally foster student participation in intercollegiate athletics as an important aspect of a holistic education.”
A hearing to approve the NCAA's settlement is scheduled for Apr. 7.
In an April interview, Harvard athletics director Erin McDermott said that Harvard is a "40-year opportunity, not a four-year opportunity."
“We’ve been able to stay competitive even though we don’t give athletic scholarships,” McDermott said. “So NIL adds now another layer on top.”
McDermott said in October that she hopes that the school can ensure that all payments to athletes are linked directly to their name, image and likeness.
“What we are not okay with — and it’s not even legal, but I know the reality is it’s happening in other places — is these truly more ‘Pay for Play’ payments that are coming directly from donors that are just banding together and deciding what sums of money they might provide to athletes on a team,” she said.
