College athletes are going to get paid directly by their universities for the first time after a federal judge granted final approval of the House vs. NCAA settlement on Friday.

The settlement, which resolves three antitrust cases, establishes a new revenue sharing model that acts as a salary cap. The model allows athletic departments to distribute up to $20.5 million in name, image and likeness (NIL) revenue to athletes over the 2025-26 season.

Previously, athletes could earn NIL only through outside parties, including school-affiliated donor collectives that were crucial in roster building and recruiting.

Athletes can still sign NIL deals with third parties without it counting toward a school’s revenue-sharing pool. But there will be constraints and oversight on those deals in an effort to eliminate “pay-for-play.”

The settlement also implements roster limits, which will replace sport-by-sport scholarship limits. Each sport will have its own maximum roster size while allowing for every roster spot to receive a scholarship. Schools will offer scholarship funds as they see fit.

About the 2025 WHGF Honorees:

Michael Tiedemann is the Chief Executive Officer of AlTi Tiedemann Global. Before leading the merger that created AlTi, he was a Founding Partner, CEO, and Chairman of the Internal Investment Committee at Tiedemann Advisors, as well as CEO at Tiedemann Investment Group (TIG). He serves on the board of multiple organizations and has been recognized for his contributions to charitable causes. He both established and is the Chairman of the Board of RIVER FUND, a nonprofit organization that provides food, education, and support services to help families in New York City break the cycle of poverty.

“The Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation is an incredible resource in the heart of Harlem that has inspired and shaped international athletes. I am truly honored to receive the inaugural Simone Biles Impact Award,” said Tiedemann. “Wendy and Simone have both had incredible careers, and have paved the way for the future of the sport. Together, we can keep introducing gymnastics to our youth and creating opportunities that would otherwise not have existed.”

Harlem Community Development Corporation (HCDC), a subsidiary of the New York State Urban Development Corporation, was created in 1995 to serve the greater Harlem community, including Central Harlem, El Barrio/East Harlem, Washington Heights and West Harlem. Through various partnerships, HCDC plans and facilitates a wide range of community revitalization initiatives, strengthening upper Manhattan and its economically and culturally vibrant communities.

Christopher Harrison is a visionary entrepreneur and pioneer of aerial and acrobatic arts. In 1991, he founded AntiGravity®Inc., America’s first contemporary aerial-acrobatic entertainment company, blending athleticism and artistry to redefine movement across performance, sport, and wellness. A former world-class gymnastics specialist and Broadway dancer, Harrison’s choreography has lit up stages from the Olympics to the Academy Awards, the Metropolitan Opera, and President Obama’s Inauguration. His work spans Disney films, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, and collaborations with many cultural icons from Spielberg to Mariah Carey. His distinctive aerial pop style was notably adopted by P!nk. Recognized as the father of aerial yoga, Harrison created eight proprietary AntiGravity® Fitness techniques, practiced in over 50 countries. His innovation—the Harrison AntiGravity® Hammock—has become a global standard in wellness. Now entering a bold new chapter, Harrison is launching the AntiGravity® Movement—a visionary initiative blending wellness, longevity, creative expression, and social impact. For nearly 30 years, Harrison proudly championed underserved youth as Board Chair for the Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation. Receiving the 2025 Hero’s Award is a deeply personal honor—a tribute to the transformative power of movement, community and the dreams that uplift humanity.

“I’ve had the honor of working alongside the Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation for nearly three decades, and I have seen firsthand, the impact that this organization has had on the community and our children,” said Harrison. “It means so much to me to be recognized with the Hero’s Award on such an important night as we raise funds to keep gymnastics programming available for years to come.”

Past honorees have included Dimitrius Hutcherson, Harry Smith, Reggie Van Lee, Andrea Joyce, Donna de Varona, George Ntim, Corrinne Wright Tarver, Geoffrey Canada, Nadia Comaneci, Billie Jean King, Bruno Klaus, Jay Kriegel, Simon M. Lorne, Gail Marquis, Christina Minardi, David O’Brien, Emeka Okafor and more.

See the recap video from the 2024 benefit HERE!

Young collegian in high demand

William Horcoff was the youngest player in college hockey this season and the most requested player at the combine.

The freshman center (6-5, 190) interviewed with 31 NHL teams this week, the most of any player at the event. He had 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 18 games with the University of Michigan after his arrival in December. Horcoff, the son of former NHL forward Shawn Horcoff, had 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 28 games with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team to begin the season. He turned 18 on Jan. 23.

“The other team doesn’t care that I was the youngest player,” Horcoff said. “They’re still going to play me hard, if not even harder. I was more just focusing on what I could do to have an impact.

“I feel I used my size and strength to win pucks and my physicality to play that hard, mean, game that you need to win.”

Shawn Horcoff, the assistant GM of the Detroit Red Wings, played 1,008 NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks. Detroit has the No. 13 pick in the draft.

“My dad told me that if you want it, you’ve got to put everything into it, and I want it really bad,” said Horcoff, No. 24 in Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters. “Just make sure you’re not going to bed knowing you could have done more because if you can’t do that, you’re not going to maximize your potential and be the best player you can be in five years. That’s the best advice he’s given me.”

First to finish

Malte Vass was the first player on the floor to complete the array of fitness tests at the combine. The defenseman with Farjestad in Sweden’s junior division is No. 17 in Central Scouting’s final ranking of International skaters.

“Fun,” Vass said of being the first one. “It was tough, it was intensive.”

Vass felt the VO2 Max bike test that measures endurance was the toughest and that the various jumping tests were a bit easier. The 18-year-old didn’t go into the testing blindly. Jack Berglund, a forward chosen by the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round (No. 51) of the 2024 NHL Draft, shared some insights. Vass and Berglund have been teammates on Farjestad’s junior team the past three seasons.

“I learned a lot about myself,” he said. “Meeting all the teams, it’s been a fun week, but it was tough.”

Vass, considered a stay-at-home defenseman, had 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 40 games with his junior team and no points in five games in the Swedish Hockey League this season. He plans to attend Boston University in Hockey East 2025-26.

“I think it’s a really good school, and I think it’s the best way for me,” Vass said. “I think it’s better to play college to get to the NHL.”

What’s in a number?

There’s a story behind Schaefer wearing jersey No. 48. It has to do with current Flyers general manager and former NHL forward Daniel Brière.

“The reason my brother wore 48 was because of Danny Briere,” said Schaefer, whose brother Johnny is nine years older. “Johnny grew up wearing 48 and watching him. Briere was at a tyke (under-7) hockey tournament in Buffalo, coaching one of the teams, and he came into the room where my brother was and spoke to everyone about life lessons and hockey. The thing my brother took away from that was just how great a person Briere was … that he took the time to talk to him and sign people’s jerseys, hats, whatever they had. It really made an impression on him, and he instantly was Johnny’s favorite player.

“It’s because of that, I also started wearing 48.”

To his surprise, Schaefer was given workout shirt 48 at the combine.

Briere appreciates the sentiment and thinks very highly of Matthew not only as a player, but a person.

“His interaction with people is very different than most,” Briere said. “It feels like you’re talking to a 30-year-old already. He’s very mature beyond his years. It’s hard to believe he’s only 17. It’s his energy. After you talk to him, you come away feeling good. He’s an impressive young man.

“Some team is going to get a very good player. There’s not much not to like about this kid.”

President Donald Trump is set to meet with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua in a golf outing. Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported that the three are expected to discuss the future of college athletics as President Trump explores involvement in the industry.

The golf outing is set to take place at Trump National in Bedminster, New Jersey. The President was in attendance at UFC 316 in Newark, NJ Saturday night.

“The significance of the meeting cannot be overstated,” Dellenger wrote. “It comes two days after a California judge granted approval of a landmark legal settlement (House) that further evolves major college athletics into a more professionalized entity where schools will directly compensate athletes. The two men attending the Trump meeting hold significant decision-making power …

“The three men are expected to spend extended time together beyond their round of golf as NCAA leaders seek Congressional and White House assistance for a federal standard to stabilize and regulate what’s become an unruly structure. Trump has grown interested in the issues, even deeply exploring the possibility of issuing an executive order and creating a commission to study the many developments — such as player movement in the transfer portal, booster-backed compensation to athletes, and the impact on women and Olympic sports.”

Dellenger reported President Trump’s meeting with Sankey and Bevacqua could ultimately lead to action from the White House or even expedite Congressional negotiations over college sports legislation. The president created a commission and selected a chair group that would oversee the look to solve the issues in college athletics. President Trump even wanted to tap former Alabama head coach Nick Saban to lead the charge. The commission work was paused two weeks ago.

All of this is on the heels of the House Settlement which now allows colleges and universities to directly pay their athletes. It was a near $3 billion settlement.

The settlement also imposes new restrictions on college sports. An NIL clearinghouse will be established, titled “NIL Go” and run through Deloitte. All third-party NIL deals of $600 or more must be approved by the clearinghouse. 

If not approved, the settlement says a new third-party arbiter could deem athletes ineligible or result in a school being fined. In a gathering at the ACC spring meetings last week, Deloitte officials reportedly shared that 70% of past deals from NIL collectives would have been denied, while 90% of past deals from public companies would have been approved.