歪歪漫画

BEMIDJI 鈥� After months of deliberation, Bemidji State has decided to opt out of the NCAA House settlement.

While schools in bigger conferences 鈥� Big Ten, SEC 鈥� are required to opt in, smaller and multi-divisional schools like Bemidji State had, and still have, their House settlement fate in their hands.

In February, schools began declaring their House settlement status. The deadline for schools to opt in was pushed back multiple times over several months, culminating in a hard deadline on June 30. As of Tuesday, July 1, opt-in schools can begin paying student-athletes Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) payments directly, while also being able to offer more athletic scholarships.

鈥淲e鈥檙e opting out for a lot of reasons,鈥� BSU director of athletics Britt Lauritsen told the Pioneer on Tuesday.

鈥淏eing a multi-divisional institution and being a multi-conference school, we don鈥檛 really know how the House settlement is going to impact schools like us. We have a little bit of time, and I like to frame the next 12 months or so as a viewing period for how this actually looks for the schools that can鈥檛 opt out.鈥�

For Bemidji State, one of the biggest roadblocks to opting in was roster limits. Initially, the House settlement capped each Division I sport with specific roster limits, with men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 hockey set at 26. BSU women鈥檚 hockey had 27 players, while men鈥檚 hockey had 28 to start their respective 2024-25 seasons.

The House settlement was approved by Judge Claudia Wilken on June 6 with an amendment to grandfather in previous roster limits, emphasizing opt-in schools working toward the new roster limits within five years.

鈥淲e know there鈥檚 nuance to that now, but for our programs sitting at 27, 28 student-athletes, that helps us,鈥� Lauritsen said. 鈥淚t gives us depth. Women鈥檚 hockey is a great example.鈥�

If the 26-player limit was imposed before the 2024-25 season, BSU women鈥檚 hockey would鈥檝e been in a tricky spot.

The Beavers had a 26-player roster, but injuries to goaltenders Eva Filippova and Josie Bothun required head coach Amber Fryklund to add freshman goaltender Lauren Mooney just weeks before the season started.

If roster limits were imposed at 26 players for men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 hockey, Fryklund would鈥檝e had to cut a player off her team or dress only one healthy goaltender.

鈥淲hen you have injuries that mount on top of each other, that stuff matters,鈥� Lauritsen said. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 a big difference between 26 and 28 players, think about those two other players being goalies. What would we have done?鈥�

There are also financial implications 鈥� known and unknown 鈥� that Bemidji State was wary of had it opted in. BSU is also under the implication that it can opt in next summer after a year of evaluation.

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

鈥淎s I understand it right now, we鈥檇 have the opportunity to explore opting in before an academic year begins,鈥� Lauritsen said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an area that feels really grey, but that鈥檚 my understanding. There鈥檚 also the fiscal piece to it, the financial responsibility we have. Opting in, for us, looks different than it does for Minnesota because we鈥檙e not in a space to be revenue sharing like they will.鈥�

The House settlement, a landmark deal, will also dish out $2.8 billion for damages to former athletes over the next 10 years. Eligible former student-athletes must have competed any time from 2016 through now for opt-in schools.

The House settlement, which stems from Grant House, a former Arizona State swimmer who sued the defendants (the NCAA and the five largest athletic conferences), ends three separate federal antitrust lawsuits, all of which claimed the NCAA was illegally limiting the earning power of college athletes.

Since 2021, college athletes have been able to profit from NIL deals with third parties. It鈥檚 often money that comes from a school鈥檚 NIL collective, set up by boosters and other organized groups in conjunction with the respective school.

鈥淲hen you think about NIL and collectives, everybody wants one on their campus,鈥� Lauritsen said. 鈥淭here are places to explore there. Where can we expand and what鈥檚 the interest in expanding in those areas? It鈥檚 still a work in progress in some ways.鈥�

Now, those payments will come from the schools themselves that opt in. Opt-in schools can pay up to $20.5 million to their student-athletes this academic year.

For a non-opt-in school like BSU, Lauritsen still sees beneficial changes from the settlement.

鈥淭here鈥檚 NIL Go, which is the database for all name, image, likeness deals that all Division-I athletes have to use,鈥� Lauritsen said. 鈥淲e were required to use that, and I think that鈥檚 great. We are going to reap some benefits from the House settlement in terms of structure, even as an opt-out school.鈥�

Because the House settlement largely impacts Division I programs, Bemidji State men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 hockey is the lone variable right now. Lauritsen expects that to change.

鈥淚 foresee in the next 12, 18, 24 months 鈥� whatever that looks like 鈥� as D-I athletics gets its feet under it as a whole, D-II is going to start looking at different things, too,鈥� Lauritsen said. 鈥淲e need to figure out what it looks like for our whole department, top to bottom.

鈥淚s D-II going to make some changes? Is there anything coming down the pike that we should have on our radar? We鈥檙e being aggressive about observing, is the best way to put it.鈥�

Lauritsen also said there鈥檚 a chance aspects from the House settlement, such as roster limits, become mandated throughout collegiate athletics in the future, regardless of opting in or out.

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

鈥淭he NCAA, especially in the last five years, as lawsuits have mounted up, has done a pretty broad-ranging deep dive into the rule books,鈥� Lauritsen said. 鈥淔or now, we are kind of playing with two different rulebooks. Division I is notorious for adding things to its rulebook, then negating it shortly after if they don鈥檛 like it.

鈥淚f you think about it, D-I has been playing with multiple rulebooks for a long time. The Power Four has been playing by its own rulebook forever. There鈥檚 always going to be a piece of that. It feels like they play by their own rules, because they are.

鈥業t鈥檚 a fault in the system of letting that association grow into the behemoth it鈥檚 become. This is just one more thing, one more set of rules. You figure it out, ask a lot of questions and move on.鈥�

One area of focus for opt-out schools is bridging the gap between the benefits of being an opt-in school. Currently, Bemidji State can only offer 18 scholarships for each of its hockey teams. If BSU had opted in, it could鈥檝e offered each player a full scholarship.

While opt-out hockey schools are capped at 18 scholarships this season, schools can make up some of the difference in the form of Alston Awards, also known as Alston money.

In 2014, Shawne Alson, a former West Virginia football running back, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA to challenge the NCAA on its rules involving educational-related benefits.

Judge Wilken ruled in 2019 that the NCAA鈥檚 rules violated antitrust law under the Sherman Act. 歪歪漫画s began distributing Alton money in August 2020. Student-athletes can make up to $5,980 per year based on educational thresholds if they attend a school that gives out the awards.

鈥淎t the end of the day, you have to figure out what attracts athletes to your institution,鈥� Lauritsen said. 鈥淔or me, I鈥檓 looking at it like this: if you鈥檙e a school that can afford to give out 19 scholarships, that鈥檚 great. But if that鈥檚 your only purpose to opt in, you can probably do that with the 18 scholarships and Alston money.鈥�

For now, Lauritsen and the Beavers are staying put with their operation strategy. She noted that Beaver hockey is 鈥渦nique鈥� and heavily reliant on its alumni, donors and fan base.

鈥淲e need to hold up our end of that relationship and represent them well, and make good use of their dollars and cents,鈥� Lauritsen said. 鈥淏eaver hockey is special. The student-athletes we bring in are well-suited to the program. They fit the mold. I think knowing who we are, and I talk with Tom (Serratore) and Amber about this all the time, we have to focus on who we are and do that as well as we can, and expand it. We鈥檙e not going to opt in to be flashy.

鈥淲e know what we鈥檙e working with, we know what the next academic year will bring and how we鈥檙e going to recruit with that. We approached it like every other year, and there鈥檚 something to be said about having that kind of stability. We know what we needed; we went out and got it.鈥�