On Wednesday, March 1st, Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Ross Dellenger detailed the alleged targeting of Texas A&M from the NCAA just a mere two weeks after the school announced their brand new NIL Initiative named the “12th Man+ Fund”, a completely separate entity from the University, funded by alumni, and briefly described as the following:
12th Man+ is a new avenue of support through the 12th Man Foundation designed to compensate student-athletes for promoting the organization through charitable marketing services.
So, On Monday, the NCAA sent out a Memo to schools with a “friendly” reminder that Universities are not allowed to compensate for any Name, Image, and Likeness related activity, though it is blatantly clear that the Aggies were the primary example being used in the email from NCAA executive vice president of regulatory affairs Stan Wilcox, stating,
“The NCAA’s current interim NIL policy, the Division 1 Board of Directors NIL guidance, and NCAA rules prohibit an institution from compensating student-athletes for the use of their NIL. This prohibition also applies to entities acting on behalf of the institution.”
Well, that’s where it gets tricky for the 12th Man+ Fund, as Ross Dellenger notes, provides tax-deductible donations, while the athletes associated with the initiative are persuaded to post about the fund on social media to spread awareness, technically on “behalf” of the University. However, this is highly ambiguous from an NCAA Executive team that seems to change its mind on a daily basis.
Texas A&M Athletic Director Ross Bjork defended the initiative, explaining that everything was done in a legal manner in regard to the NCAA, stating,
“When we were approached by the 12th Man Foundation, we made sure their initiative followed state law and NCAA guidelines,”
Personally, I see this as progress for NIL in becoming more regulated and accepted among college sports, and if Texas A&M is at the forefront as the “progressive” university in funding athletes in a fair and legal manner, that’s a good thing in my book.
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