NCAA President Mark Emmert Pushes for Name, Image, Likeliness Action This Summer

NCAA president Mark Emmert said he would recommend that college sports’ governing body approve new rules allowing athletes to make money from their name, image and likeness rights this summer.

Emmert told The New York Times that he's pushing for approval of NIL guidance "before, or as close to, July 1" in an interview on Friday.

Emmert's comments come as new laws in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and New Mexico are set to take effect around the same time that will allow NCAA athletes to in some way profit off their name, image or likeness for the first time, ESPN reports.

Arizona has a law that will go into practice on July 23, while another half dozen states have laws that will open similar opportunities starting as early as 2022.

On April 27, the NCAA's Board of Governors reinforced its commitment to modernizing NCAA rules around name, image and likeness this summer.

“The NCAA and its members remain committed to providing a path for student-athletes to benefit from name, image and likeness opportunities,” the NCAA Board of Governors said in a statement following its quarterly meeting. “As we have previously noted, we recognize the importance of taking swift, appropriate action to modernize our rules. We also must collaborate with Congress to create a legal and legislative framework at the federal level to support name, image and likeness within the context of higher education. With several state laws taking effect this summer, we will continue efforts to adopt expanded name, image and likeness opportunities as soon as advisable.”

Greg Sankey, the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, where six of 14 colleges expect to operate under new statutes beginning in July, said there is going to be some trouble with the differences between state laws and NCAA rules.

“The inherent issue with the NCAA is its bylaw changes that were drafted don’t go as far as some of the state laws, so you’re still going to have tension around state laws and NCAA rules,” Sankey said, per The New York Times.

The article states Sankey is among the executives who have urged Congress to set a standard.

ESPN reports that several federal bills have been proposed, but it's not likely that any of them will be signed into law before July, according to their sources on Capitol Hill.

Written by
Megan graduated from the University of Central Florida and writes and tweets about anything related to sports. She replies to comments she shouldn't reply to online and thinks the CFP Rankings are absolutely rigged. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.