Universities are now allowed to begin paying their student-athletes directly, altering the current collegiate landscape and marking the beginning of a new era in college athletics.

On Friday night, 75-year-old California Northern District Judge Claudia Wilken approved the deal between the NCAA, its Power 4 conferences (SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC) and lawyers representing all Division I athletes. The House v. NCAA settlement ends three separate federal antitrust lawsuits, which all claimed the NCAA was illegally limiting the earning power of college athletes.

“Despite some compromises, the settlement agreement nevertheless will result in extraordinary relief for members of the settlement classes. If approved, it would permit levels and types of student-athlete compensation that have never been permitted in the history of college sports while also very generously compensating Division I student-athletes who suffered past harms,” Wilken said as part of the 76-page opinion.

The House settlement will pay thousands of former athletes who played from 2016 to 2024 $2.8 billion in back pay for lost name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation.

Although paychecks can begin to be distributed from schools to athletes on July 1, the official start of the settlement implementation takes effect immediately.

“This is new terrain for everyone…Opportunities to drive transformative change don’t come often to organizations like ours. It’s important we make the most of this one,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a statement released Friday night. “We have accomplished a lot over the last several months, from new health and wellness and academic requirements to a stronger financial footing. Together, we can use this new beginning to launch college sports into the future, too.”

Every school is permitted, but not required, to share up to a certain amount of revenue annually with its athletes. According to the settlement agreement, this cap is calculated by taking 22% of the average of certain power school revenues — most notably ticket sales, television earnings and sponsorships.

The cap in the first year — July 2025 through June 2026 — is projected to be $20.5 million.

While the 22% cap will remain the same throughout the 10-year settlement agreement, the cap money figure will rise based on built-in escalators, with a 4% increase in the second and third years, scheduled recalculation after each third year and additional cash flows into athletic departments.

A new non-NCAA enforcement entity, an LLC mainly managed by the power conferences, will oversee and enforce rules related to the revenue-share concept.

The company, College Sports Commission, will be headed by a CEO and a head investigator for enforcement matters. The organization announced the hiring of MLB executive Bryan Seeley as its CEO on Friday night.

The commission will be required to ensure that schools remain under the cap and that third-party NIL deals with athletes are not booster-backed deals that have been prevalent over recent years. An enforcement staff is also expected to be hired to investigate and enforce rules related to cap circumvention, tampering and other subjects and will be required to levy stiff penalties.

Another aspect of the agreement is a Deloitte-run NIL clearinghouse that will have to approve all third-party NIL deals of at least $600 in value. The “NIL Go” clearinghouse will use a fair market value algorithm to create compensation ranges for third-party deals.

Head Coach Tim Dunsbee, alongside Assistant Coach Ian MacCullum and Team Manager Terri Halstead, have selected a group mixed with experience, skill and promising young talent that will be looking to secure their spot at next year’s Championships.

The squad contains five of the players that helped the team to tenth at the World Cup Water Polo World Cup in December, including Kameron Powell, Jordan Elliot and Tom Manley.

Drawn in Group A – one of four groups in the qualification phase – Great Britain will face the Netherlands, Poland, Czechia, and hosts Slovenia over three days in the countries third-largest city.

A top-two finish is required to advance to the finals, with the leading teams from each group forming Division Two of the European Championships, set to take place in Serbia in January 2026.

Success in Slovenia would see the men’s team join the women’s squad at the major event, following their historic qualification in 2024.

Despite a challenging group, the squad has been training intensively to prepare for the task ahead. A 13-11 victory over Sweden in an international friendly during an overseas training camp was followed up with testing fixtures against Ukraine (8-20 loss), Slovakia (7-20 loss), Slovenia (8-16 loss) and Israel (8-14 loss) at the Danube Cup in Slovakia as part of their final preparations.

Commenting on the team’s European Aquatics Qualification Round preparations following the Danube Cub, Head Coach Tim Dunsbee said: “It’s been a tough tournament with some hard-fought games, but we’ve seen clear improvement with each match. This is a young squad still finding its feet and the progress so far is encouraging. We’re building something and looking forward to taking the next step in Slovenia next week.”

Live streaming of matches is reported to be available through EuroAquaticsTV.com, with the full schedule and results available on the Microplus website.

Union sprinter Levi Hadachek, right, competes in the finals of the Class 2A boys 100-meter dash at the 2025 Iowa High School Track & Field Championships in Des Moines on Saturday, May 24. After being seeded 18th, Hadachek took seventh with a time of 11.10 seconds. PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

DES MOINES – After qualifying a bumper crop of 19 events for this year’s Iowa High School Track & Field Championships which took place May 22-24 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, three Union track and field athletes made it all the way to the Class 2A podium (top-8) including senior Amilia Condon, junior Levi Hadachek, and senior Justice Luke.

Luke took fifth in the boys high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 3 inches – setting a personal record and defying his 13th seeding. After clearing the starting height (5 feet, 11 inches) on his first attempt, Luke then cleared the next height (6 feet, 1 inch) on his second try. With the bar subsequently moved up to 6 feet, 3 inches, Luke again managed to clear on his second attempt before failing all three attempts at 6 feet, 5 inches.

The 2A high jump champion this year was Camanche senior Tyson Seeser who cleared 6 feet, 8 inches on his first attempt.

Hadachek also medaled for the Knights after finishing seventh in the boys 100-meter dash with a time of 11.10 seconds. Hadachek was seeded 18th ahead of the event. In the preliminaries, he also finished seventh with a time of 11.02 seconds. The 2A boys 100 champion was No. 22 seed Brandon Pedersen of West Branch who captured gold with a time of 10.73 seconds.

Rounding out the Knights medals this year was senior distance runner Condon who crossed the finish in eighth place during the girls 3,000-meter run with a time of 10 minutes, 38.80 seconds, setting a personal record. Condon, a senior seeded No. 3 in the event, was part of a record-setting race which saw six new Iowa High School Outdoor Rankings set along with three new U.S. High School Outdoor Rankings including the champion Noelle Steines of Tipton whose 9:53.95 finish set the new No. 3 for Iowa and No. 32 for the U.S.

Union’s Luke Winkelpleck (right) hands off the baton to anchor Levi Hadachek during the Class 2A boys 4X200 relay during the state track meet in Des Moines on Friday, May 23. Union finished 13th out of 24 teams in the event. PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

Condon also competed individually in the girls 1,500-meter run, crossing the finish 13th with a time of 4:57.68 – beating her 2024 finish of 5:07.99.

Union’s 2025 state track and field finishes also included:

9 – Boys 4×100 relay (Evan Hanus, Trevor Clark, Garrett Kaalberg, Levi Hadachek): 43.38 (new school record)

12 – Boys 4×800 relay (Brayden Bohnsack, Cooper Davis, Jackson Youngblut, Sawyer Spence): 8:14.67 (personal record)

13 – Boys 4×200 relay (Evan Hanus, Trevor Clark, Luke Winkelpleck, Levi Hadachek): 1:31.10

Union senior Kate Carlson runs the second leg of the girls 4×800 meter relay at the 2025 Iowa High School Track & Field Championships on Drake University’s Blue Oval in Des Moines. PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

13 – Justice Luke, boys 110-meter hurdles: 15.65 (personal record)

14 – Girls 4X800 relay (Brynn Albertsen, Kate Carlson, Lily Lorenzen, Amilia Condon): 10:07.65

15 – Ethan Winnike, boys high jump: 5 feet, 11 inches

17 – Eric Neipert, boys discus throw: 138 feet, 9 inches

18 – Boys distance medley relay (Garrett Kaalberg, Luke Winkelpleck, Caden Sorensen, Sawyer Spence): 3:39.17

Union’s Cooper Davis takes off after receiving the handoff from teammate Brayden Bohnsack (left) during the Class 2A boys 4×800 meter relay at the state track meet on Thursday, May 22, in Des Moines. The Knights set a personal record during the event, finishing 12th with a time of 8:14.67. PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

20 – Girls 4X100 shuttle hurdle relay (Ruby Parson, Caitlyn Schneider, Reese Andersen, Mara Tudor): 1:11.63

20 – Girls 4X400 relay (Kate Carlson, Brynn Albertsen, Chloe Sadler, Katie Jackson): 4:13.04 (season best)

21 – Kate Carlson, girls 400-meter dash: 1:01.83

21 – Lily Lorenzen, girls high jump: 4 feet, 10 inches

21 – Taylen Smith, girls long jump: 15 feet, 3 1/4 inches

PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

21 – Girls distance medley relay (Bianca Grimm, Ruby Parson, Chloe Sadler, Amilia Condon): 4:23.82 (season best)

24 – Boys 4X400 relay (Luke Winkelpleck, Caden Sorensen, Jase Loveless, Brayden Bohnsack): 3:34.69

PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

BOZEMAN, Mont. — Montana State University track and field will make program history in Eugene, Oregon, as the Bobcats are sending its first-ever relay team to compete in the women’s 4x400m at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

“We honestly didn’t know that we were the first team to make it,” MSU junior Peyton Garrison said. “Some of the pictures that were shown, we were jumping in excitement and we’re just so excited.”

But the manner in which the MSU relay team reached the championships required a little help from the rule book.

The team of Corvallis native and freshman Olivia Lewis, Garrison, junior Giula Gandolfi, and junior Caroline Hawkes finished with a time of 3:34.31, second-fastest in school history, to take 13th place at the NCAA West First Round in College Station, TX. The top 12 teams, top three from each heat and the next three fastest times, advanced to nationals, meaning the Bobcats were the first team out of the field.

However, those lows quickly turned to highs as a Northern Arizona team that made the top 12 from an earlier heat was disqualified. NAU protested the disqualification, and after waiting hours under the night sky and with the stadium empty, Montana State officially booked a ticket to Eugene.

“We were for sure sad, because we were the last team out, and then a couple of us girls looked up on the TV, and the TV had said that we had made it,” Garrison said.

“The relays are difficult, because it’s not just one person, you have to have four people, and they have to be at an incredibly high level,” MSU head track and field coach Lyle Weese said. “To get a relay into the NCAA Championships, it really signifies the level that the long sprints women’s program is at.”

For Garrison and Gandolfi, it wasn’t their first race in the NCAA West First Round. Both competed in individual events two days earlier with Garrison placing 42nd in the 200m and Gandolfi taking 27th in the 400m hurdles.

“We were a little nervous before the 4×4, of course you have to be, but I think it definitely helped having another race,” Garrison said. “We can get the energy out, the nervousness out, and I think that helped a lot.”

“I think it’s always a balance of competing, recovering from that, and going on to the next event in the meet,” Weese said. “I’m a big believer that if you have competed in an event at a meet, a lot of times it’s easier from the mental side and pressure side to compete in that second event.”

But it was Hawkes as the anchor leg that helped propel the Bobcats into nationals. After receiving the baton from Gandolfi, Hawkes moved the team from seventh to fourth in the heat, including beating out Oklahoma State by nine hundredths of a second for the final spot in nationals.

“It was amazing. Caroline always pulls through, Caroline is always the hardest worker out here, and that’s also another big reason why we are out here,” Garrison said.

“That was probably the best relay leg or the best 400m that Caroline has ever run,” Weese said. “The first 200m she was moving like crazy and making up a lot of ground, and she caught up to some of those individuals that she ended up passing them.”

MSU will look to take advantage of its opportunity on the highest stage as the Bobcat relay team shares a final race of the season together and represents a growing women’s program.

“We have a really close 4×4 team, and so all of us are best friends, we work together every single day. We show up to the track, we work together, we go out to eat together and we spend so much time,” Garrison said. “Being so close and being friendly, and we love each other so much, and that makes us work hard for each other. I think that’s why we made it.”

“It’s really built upon itself,” Weese said on the success of the MSU women. “It’s been that situation where they’ve raised each other’s ability level, but to see so many school records from every event group is really an exciting thing for our program, and also that so many of them will be back for future years.”

The Montana State relay team will compete in the semifinals of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene on Thursday at 7:36 p.m. PST. If they advance to the finals, the Bobcats will compete on Saturday, June 14 at 8:21 p.m. PST.

Friday evening was quite eventful in college sports. Judge Claudia Wilken approved the House settlement deal that will shape the future of how USC navigates the terrain of college athletics. Around the same time, Texas defeated Texas Tech during the NCAA College Softball World Series.

As shared by Arrogant Nation on X, this makes the path toward a potential Learfield Directors’ Cup victory for the Trojans narrower. It does, however, make it a two-school race now, exclusively between USC and Texas. Before the Longhorns’ victory, there was still an outside shot of Stanford being able to win the overall collegiate title. For those noticing, Learfield is also the recently announced marketing company that has now partnered with USC.

Everything will now come down to the track and field events at the NCAA championships in Eugene, Oregon, that will take place starting on Wednesday, June 11th.

It goes without saying that the Trojan athletes who have qualified for their respective events on the national stage will need to perform well and have a number of first-place finishes in Eugene in order for USC to take the lead from Texas.

If the Longhorns underperform, however, there will be a Trojan victory for the Directors’ Cup. Considering how well-rounded and how much depth this Director Quincy Watts roster has for both teams, it should not be dismissed already.

First or second will now fall on USC T&F team’s shoulders

Track and field, like any of the other sports, is something that can have athletes have an off-day or perform even above the high expectations that someone had entering into the event. Between all of the athletes who have qualified for the NCAA championships and the season of success that these two squads have already had and displayed, a Trojan T&F victory could very easily mean this additional overarching victory as well, even with this latest Texas win in softball.   

Talented young Marlburians were acknowledged and supported on Friday when the next recipients of Inspire Foundation grants were announced.

The May 2025 Grantees’ Award Ceremony saw six new grantees and seven re-grants. The gathered guests also heard from guest speaker, renowned golf caddy Steve Williams, and raised invaluable funds from the Fundraising auction run by two-time Australasian auction champion Phil McGoldrick.

New grantees announced on the night were Amber Bendell for hip hop, Ella Sowman for tennis, Neve Mckenzie for triathlon, Olivia Cooke for community work with scouts, Scott Keay for water polo and Sophia Nicholas for touch. Re-grants were awarded to Finn Mckenzie for road cycling, Kyla Thorstensen for softball, Luka van Rensburg for cornet, Alex Craig for mountain biking, Erin Green for track cycling, Gus Marfell for triathlon and Isabella Baldwin for jazz.

“We continue to be amazed at the young talented individuals that apply each year,” says Inspire Foundation Marlborough Chairman Mark Davis.

“Our Inspire family is growing and the grants sometimes mean the difference between being able to attend events or not, so it is important that we are able to support our young superstars in the pursuit of their dreams,” he says.