The NCAA released a statement Wednesday evening responding to the antitrust lawsuit that the State of Tennessee and Commonwealth of Virginia filed against the organization on Wednesday morning.
“While the NCAA generally does not comment on specific infractions cases, it is important to remember that NCAA member schools and conferences not only make the rules but routinely call for greater enforcement of those rules holding violators accountable,” the NCAA stated. “In recent years, this has been especially true as it relates to establishing and enforcing a consistent set of national rules intended to manage name, image and likeness environment. This legal action would exacerbate what our members themselves have described as as a ‘wild west’ atmosphere, further tilting competitive imbalance among schools in neighboring states, and diminishing protections for student-athletes from potential exploitation. The NCAA remains firmly committed to protecting and expanding student-athletes’ NIL rights and opportunities. However, our membership has steadfastly supported the prohibition on impermissible recruiting contacts, booster involvement in recruiting prospects and the use of NIL offers as recruiting inducements.”
The NCAA touched on a number topics in its statement. Perhaps the biggest disconnect from the NCAA’s opinion and Tennessee Chancellor Donde Plowman’s statement comes in the NCAA’s line on “enforcement of those rules holding violators accountable.”
More From RTI: Donde Plowman Holding Strong On Criticism Of NCAA
Plowman has stated, now multiple times, that Tennessee is not guilty of any violations while also criticizing the NCAA for trying to retroactively enforce rules that were not in place when NIL first broke onto the scene in college athletics.
“Regrettably, in this chaotic environment, the NCAA enforcement staff is trying to retroactively apply unclear guidance to punish and make an example of our institution and others,” Plowman stated in her email to NCAA President Charlie Baker.
The NCAA’s statement about enforcing rules matches up with numerous reports that indicate that Florida, Florida State and Tennessee aren’t the only schools that the NCAA plans on investigating for NIL related violations.
At a time when the NCAA is as vulnerable as its ever been, they appear committed to investigating and potentially punishing its most powerful member institutions.
Perhaps the most peculiar statement from the NCAA was its insistence that using NIL as a recruiting tool was “further tilting competitive imbalance among schools in neighboring states”. In the last two years, both TCU and Washington have played for college football’s National Championship. Neither school had previously done so in the prior 23 years of the BCS or College Football Playoff.
