On June 23, the College Sports Commission (CSC) issued a memorandum to all Division I Institutions and Conferences updating its NIL deal review, enforcement policy, and agent agreements.
Rule Changes
NCAA Division I Cabinet Approves Age-Based, Five-Year Eligibility Model
On June 23, 2026, the NCAA Division I Cabinet unanimously approved a historic overhaul of student-athlete eligibility rules, adopting an age-based model that grants student-athletes five full seasons of competition after entering college. The vote marks the most significant structural change to NCAA eligibility rules in decades and resolves — at least formally — a system that had become both legally vulnerable and administratively unworkable.
How the NCAA’s 5-in-5 Eligibility Proposal Impacts Youth and College Hockey
Editor’s Note: This post was updated on June 9, 2026, to reflect the NCAA’s updated guidance issued on June 5, 2026, in response to recommendations from stakeholders in men’s ice hockey, men’s basketball, and the U.S. national service academies.
During its May meeting, the Division I Cabinet proposed and discussed an age-based eligibility model (i.e., the 5-in-5 proposal) that would give student-athletes five years of eligibility, beginning either the academic year after turning 19 or upon graduation from high school, whichever happens first.
Moving the Goalposts: CSC Adds and Subtracts Guidance on the “Valid Business Purpose” Standard
By Callan G. Stein & Brett Broczkowski on
As we reported last week, the College Sports Commission (CSC) issued initial guidance on how it would evaluate student-athlete NIL deals. As part of that guidance, the CSC promised to make available additional information “pending discussions with House class counsel.”
“NIL Go”: Deloitte Establishes Basic Framework to Review Third-Party NIL Deals
A three-page memo distributed to schools provides further clarity regarding Deloitte’s role as the approved clearinghouse for name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals, as outlined in the House settlement and guidance documents. Deloitte’s NIL clearinghouse and review platform will be known as “NIL Go.” We briefly addressed the role of the NIL clearinghouse in a previous blog post.
NCAA Takes Another Step Toward Implementing House-Settlement Rule Changes
By Michael S. Lowe & Philip Nickerson on
On April 21, the Division I Board of Directors (Board) greenlit major National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rule changes that are contingent on court approval of the $2.8 billion House v. NCAA settlement. If the settlement is approved, these changes would eliminate more than 150 rules, many of which conflict with the settlement’s terms, and create new rules related to enforcement and oversight of the school distributions and student-athletes’ name, image, and likeness (NIL) payments.