Summer School for Intellectual Property: Universities Must Prepare Student-Athlete Endorsement Policies in Response to New NCAA Rules
On July 6, 2021 by Schnader in Intellectual PropertyStephenie Wingyuen Yeung and W. Drew Kastner published a client alert, “Summer School for Intellectual Property: Universities Must Prepare Student-Athlete Endorsement Policies in Response to New NCAA Rules.”
On June 30, 2021, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) officially adopted a uniform interim policy suspending previous NCAA name, image and likeness (“NIL”) rules for all incoming and current student-athletes in all sports. The move would allow athletes in all NCAA divisions to profit from endorsements, their signatures, public appearances, and other business ventures for the first time in over a century.
The change in NCAA policy means that higher education institutions nationwide will have to accelerate their response over this summer in time for the fall athletic season. Such preparation may be especially important, as the NCAA policy encourages student-athletes to turn to their schools for information about their state’s NIL law.