NCAA to allow athletes to profit off their brand by 2021

By Steven Merrill | Published by November 6, 2019

In a unanimous decision, the NCAA announced on Oct. 29 that it would allow collegiate athletes to make money based on their name, likeness, and image. The goal is to allow student-athletes from Division I-III schools to be able to receive these profits starting no later than January 2021.

While athletes from Division I schools will benefit from this plan, it remains to be seen how it will affect a Division III school like Kean.

“I honestly wouldn’t know,” said sophomore baseball player Bruce Weyand when asked what he expects to receive financing. “Because Division III isn’t as advertised, I wouldn’t expect a lot, if any.”

NCAA administrators have been working with ways student-athletes can receive money for the use of their names, image, and likeness since May. The organization felt the heat from the public and NCAA board chair Michael Drake admitted they must embrace change to provide the best possible experience for college athletes.

Drake said in a press release from the NCAA that this change “should not turn student-athletes into employees of institutions.” The board then mentioned how they don’t want to see student-athletes have more opportunities than regular students to receive money. 

“I believe the NCAA’s new legislation is meant to only really benefit the top one percent of athletes in the Division I revenue sports,” said Kean Men’s Basketball/Head Student Manager Matt Kipp. “For Kean and all other Division III athletes, I don’t see many ways that this will benefit them.”

Kean athletics is a $2.86 million operation with 368 student-athletes, according to collegefactual.com. Between the men’s and women’s programs, Kean competes in 13 sports at the Division III level. 

Photo courtesy of Matt Kipp

“There is more money, demand, and national interest for Division I athletes and they are the ones who will bring in the big-time endorsements,” said Kipp. “At its core, Division I athletics exist for revenue, Division III does not.”

Kean Women’s basketball player Olivia Nilsen stated that her love for the game is enough to where she doesn’t even need compensation for playing.

“Most Division III athletes are just here because we genuinely love the game,” the junior guard said. “Our pay is getting to be a collegiate athlete and getting the chance to be apart of a college team to continue playing the game we love at the next level.”

However, Weyand isn’t enthusiastic about the new law and doesn’t see many positives as a Division III athlete at Kean.

“It sounds like a change is going to come,” he said. “Whether it’s good or bad is hard to tell but I think it might negatively affect athletes. I’m not sure how but it might make them focus on the money instead of the actual sport.”

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