After the NCAA board of governors passed a law to allow college athletes to profit off their fame in several states such as California, Florida and Colorado, they voted unan- imously on a similar agree- ment nationwide on Oct. 29.
The board has asked the three divisions of the NCAA to create the necessary rules immediately in order to have them in place no later than January of 2021.
Bill Jurgens, Florida Tech’s athletic director, stat- ed that he does not have an opinion at this time, due to this information just being released, and the fact that the NCAA is still looking into this matter.
According to TIME, the NCAA needs to determine how athletes can profit off of their name, likeness and
image, while also maintaining rules regarding amateurism.
Jake Hahn, a junior on the lacrosse team, said he thinks that for these rules to be effec- tive, the NCAA would have to redefine the term of amateur- ism in college sports.
“I think the main thing that categorizes an athlete as a professional is that they get paid to play their sport,” Hahn said.
Hahn then explained that an athlete can’t be both a professional and an amateur at the same time.
He elaborated that the hard thing about allowing student athletes to make money off their name is the fact that once that student starts making money, it’s hard to say if they can still be considered an amateur.
Johnny Poret, a sopho- more on the football team, said he believes that players
should be paid based on the amount of money they bring into the school.
“Big time players bring in big time money for schools because people want to come watch them play,” Poret said. “The more money a player brings in, the more money that player should receive.”
How universities will assist students in profiting off of their name and likeness has not been decided.
Both Hahn and Poret brought up the suggestion of personal jersey sales, or team equipment inside the univer- sity’s bookstore or on their website.
As far as recruiting is concerned, Hahn said he believes that this new rule will potentially have no impact on the smaller Division II and Division III schools, but could have an effect on Division I schools.
Hahn went on to explain that the high quality athletes, such as those who are considered four or five star recruits, won’t have an interest in coming to Florida Tech, as they have the opportunity to
pursue Division I schools. With just a little over a year until this rule will be put in play, much more informa- tion regarding rules and regu- lations from the NCAA itself
are still to come.