The convergence of myriad factors, including conference realignment, a seamless transfer portal and rule changes permitting athletes to profit from usage of their name, image and likeness (NIL) have dramatically transformed the landscape of collegiate sports. However, as tectonic as the ructions resulting from conference realignment and the transfer portal have been, no other development has engendered as much confusion and angst as the rapid evolution of NIL.
With a view toward injecting some modicum of clarity into the volatile arena of NIL, a plethora of legislation has been enacted at the state level and proposed at the federal level. For the past three years, in the wake of all this turbulence, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), had been for the most part a spectator in the bleachers. But in the past few months it appears the NCAA may have begun to buckle its chinstrap.
