KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) athletic directors, senior woman administrators and faculty athletics representatives met in Kansas City June 1-3 for the Association’s annual summer meetings. As part of a full slate of action items, the MIAA Institutional Representatives Council (IRC) has recommended an NCAA legislative proposal to the Association’s Chief Executive Officer Council as a way to address significant concerns regarding the current environment for recruiting in intercollegiate athletics.
The IRC recommended that the MIAA sponsor legislation to amend the Division II NCAA Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) bylaws. The MIAA would need to find a co-sponsor for the proposal for it to go before the Division II membership for consideration in January at the NCAA Convention.
Under current NCAA legislation, NIL compensation must: (1) include a quid pro quo arrangement, (2) not be contingent upon initial or continued enrollment at a particular institution, and (3) not be in return for athletics participation or achievement. The MIAA recommendation would permit NIL offers to be arranged and utilized as recruiting inducements so long as any offer related to initial enrollment at a particular institution is documented in an institutional financial aid agreement (or addendum), whereby NIL funding is clearly detailed and outlined, to include the funding source external from the member institution (i.e., third party), the amount of compensation, and the work to be performed by the student-athlete in the arrangement. Itemizing a recruitment-based NIL offer(s) alongside other athletic or institutional financial aid will serve to clarify legitimate NIL offers for prospective student-athletes and reinforce that Division II NIL is distinct and different from the Division I revenue share model.
MIAA Commissioner Mike Racy noted, “The MIAA is hoping to engage in a division-wide conversation about how to enhance true NIL opportunities for student-athletes enrolling at or already enrolled at Division II campuses, bringing greater transparency and accountability to the NIL landscape in the division, and distinguishing the Division I Pay for Play/Revenue Share Model from the Division II NIL Transactions Model. This recommendation is intended to bring clarity to the Division II recruiting process, allowing student-athletes to know the full value of offers from DII institutions and how NIL dollars will help pay for that student-athlete’s education expenses.”
The MIAA CEO Council will consider this recommendation as part of its business session during its June 8 summer governance meeting in Topeka, Kansas.