MARK EMMERT

“I think it’s in a lot of ways inappropriate to have an administrator be the face of the NCAA,” Emmert said. And maybe some of the anxiety would have died down but I don’t second guess that one as much as people think,” Emmert said. Emmert said he has played no role in choosing the next NCAA president beyond helping the Board of Governors create a job description. There's very few enterprises that do that.”___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com___AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/mrxhe6f2Copyright 2022 The Associated Press.

Outgoing NCAA President Mark Emmert had some advice for his replacement in his first public appearance since announcing in April he was stepping down after 12 years.

Senators Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Joe Manchin of West Virginia have requested feedback from college sports leaders to be used to craft a bill to regulate how college athletes can be compensated for their names, images and likenesses.

The NCAA has adequately addressed nine of 23 recommendations for creating comparable NCAA Tournament experiences for men’s and women’s basketball players.

NCAA Athlete Compensation FILE - UConn's Paige Bueckers stretches during a practice session for a college basketball game in the final round of the Women's Final Four NCAA tournament April 2, 2022, in Minneapolis. The meeting comes about a week after oft-criticized NCAA President Mark Emmert announced he would be stepping down by the summer of 2023. “NCAA President Mark Emmert’s resignation is one of many necessary structural changes that will enable the NCAA to support our student-athletes," Blackburn said in a statement. The NCAA has worked with lobbyists in Washington for years and, separately, so have the Power Five conferences — the SEC, Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference. The council meets on May 18 and is likely to receive a report from the working group by then.

College sports leaders visited Capitol Hill, asking lawmakers to consider rules to govern name, image and likeness money for college athletes.

NCAA Emmert FILE - NCAA President Mark Emmert speaks at the opening business session of the NCAA convention Jan. 19, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Emmert is stepping down after 12 years on the job. NCAA Board of Governors Chairman John DeGioia announced the move Tuesday, April 26, 2022, and said it was by mutual agreement. If that's the case, is an NCAA president — or CEO or executive director —- even necessary? It’s very diffused.”Feldman suggested the time might be right for the leader of the NCAA to come from outside college sports. But why would anyone want the job during such a chaotic time in college sports?

The NCAA is looking for a new president.

Emmert will remain in his role until a successor is hired or until June 30, 2023, whichever comes first.

Emmert will remain in his role until a successor is hired or until June 30, 2023, whichever comes first.

NCAA Emmert NCAA president Mark Emmert answers a question during a news conference at the men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament Thursday, March 31, 2022, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (David J. Phillip)INDIANAPOLIS — (AP) — NCAA President Mark Emmert is stepping down after 12 years on the job. NCAA Board of Governors Chairman John DeGioia announced the move Tuesday and said it was by mutual agreement. Emmert will continue to serve in his role until a new president is selected and in place or until June 30, 2023. “Throughout my tenure I’ve emphasized the need to focus on the experience and priorities of student-athletes,” Emmert said in a release from the NCAA.

NCAA President Mark Emmert is stepping down after 12 years on the job.

If the nine months that led to Monday night’s national title game proved anything, it’s that college sports are changing.

The sport Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is leaving is run by an organization he doesn’t much recognize anymore.

NCAA Emmert NCAA president Mark Emmert answers a question during a news conference at the men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament Thursday, March 31, 2022, in New Orleans. “It’s just been really slow in getting through that new independent process that’s wound up reinvestigating the entire case,” Emmert said, referring to the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP). Emmert said NCAA institutions need to come up with a process that has “got to be fair. Kansas asked for referral to the IARP instead of having the NCAA's infractions committee handle the matter. “I don’t know fully what was envisioned and what wasn’t envisioned,” said Sankey, who has served on the NCAA infractions committee.

NCAA President Mark Emmert says investigations into allegations of major violations against several high-profile men’s college basketball programs have taken “way too long.”.

NCAA President Mark Emmert said investigations into allegations of major violations against several high-profile men's college basketball programs — including 2022 Final Four participant Kansas — have taken “way too long.” “It’s just been really slow in getting through that new independent process that’s wound up reinvestigating the entire case,” Emmert said, referring to the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP). The IARP was created out of proposals from the commission led by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in 2018 to reform the sport.

NCAA Basketball NCAA president Mark Emmert speaks at a news conference at the Target Center, site of of the Women's Final Four NCAA tournament Wednesday, March 30, 2022, in Minneapoils. Emmert said the work ahead improving conditions for women's basketball includes negotiating a new television contract for the women's tournament and potentially having a similar revenue distribution protocol as the men’s event. Emmert said adopting such a payment structure won't be a quick fix and will require approval from several NCAA committees. The women’s tournament currently is bundled with other women’s championships for TV rights. Emmert and NCAA Vice President for women's basketball Lynn Holzman pointed to positive changes this year that included using the phrase "March Madness" for the women's tournament and expanding the field to 68 teams to equal the men.

A year ago, glaring inequities were revealed at the women’s NCAA Tournament.

NCAA Tournament Inequities Basketball FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2020, file photo, NCAA President Mark Emmert testifies during a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing on intercollegiate athlete compensation on Capitol Hill in Washington. Three congressional lawmakers sent a six-page letter to NCAA president Mark Emmert on Monday, March 14, 2022, saying the organization has made “inadequate progress” in addressing the inequities of treatment between male and female athletes in NCAA tournaments. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) (Susan Walsh)Three congressional lawmakers have sent a letter to NCAA President Mark Emmert accusing the organization of making "inadequate progress" in addressing "historically disparate" treatment of male and female athletes. “The shortcomings at the women’s basketball tournament last year have been well-documented and extensively covered,” the NCAA said Tuesday in an emailed statement in response to the lawmakers' letter. The NCAA has already made changes to its women's basketball tournament this year.

Three congressional lawmakers say the NCAA has made “inadequate progress” in addressing the inequities in the treatment of male and female athletes.

The University of Pennsylvania says it will work with the NCAA under its newly adopted standards for transgender athletes.

INDIANAPOLIS — (AP) — NCAA member schools voted to ratify a new, pared-down constitution Thursday, paving the way for a decentralized approach to governing college sports that will hand more power to schools and conferences. ““Why are we still trying to stick together,” Betsy Mitchell, athletic director at CalTech. The NCAA has no jurisdiction over the College Football Playoff and the hundreds of millions in revenue it generates for FBS schools and conferences. __Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25Copyright 2022 The Associated Press.

NCAA member schools have ratified a new, pared-down constitution.

The NCAA has adopted a sport-by-sport approach for transgender athletes, bringing the organization in line with the U.S. and International Olympic Committees.

NCAA President Mark Emmert says the association’s move to restructure college sports is not being driven by fear but by the desire to seize an opportunity to tackle issues that have been building for decades.

NCAA Restructuring FILE - The NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis is shown in this Thursday, March 12, 2020. Emmert called for the constitutional convention over the summer, not long after the U.S. Supreme Court dealt the NCAA a potentially crippling blow. Rewriting the constitution is the first step toward decentralizing college sports' governance and deemphasizing the role of the NCAA. The plan is for the full membership to vote on it at the January NCAA convention in Indianapolis. Emmert said there was significant discussion about dropping the term from official NCAA usage, but the athletes themselves pushed to keep it.

The NCAA has set the stage for a dramatic restructuring of college sports.

The NCAA has fallen short of upholding its commitment to gender equity, spending more on male athletes on average than female ones.

The NCAA infractions committee decided against punishing Baylor for its mishandling of sexual assault allegations against athletes for a simple reason: Its rules don't allow it.

NCAA Reform FILE - This is a March 12, 2020, file photo showing NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis. The NCAA Board of Governors called for a special constitutional convention in November to initiate dramatic reform in the governance of college sports that could be in place as soon as January. The NCAA said it wants to “reimagine" how to more effectively manage the needs of college athletes. Legal experts and college sports observers immediately wondered if the NCAA would look at other approaches to governing college sports. Earlier this month, the NCAA lifted its long ban on college athletes earning money for endorsement and sponsorship deals.

The NCAA Board of Governors is calling for a constitutional convention in November.

HOOVER, Ala. — (AP) — Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey echoed the NCAA president's call for potential changes in how college athletics are governed Monday, though he did not endose a breakaway by the five most powerful leagues. Emmert's stance, Sankey said, “does speak to we’re going to have to administer this differently” but not necessarily formally separating Power Five conferences from the pack. “Yet I think people are going to be asking that question of me," Sankey said. Sankey said "there's not a high level of oversight" within state legislation. “We can govern some aspects, but 450 pages seems less relevant today than it ever has before.”___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25Copyright 2021 The Associated Press.

Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey is echoing a call for potential changes in how college athletics are governed.

NCAA Compensating Athletes FILE - In this April 4, 2019, file photo, NCAA President Mark Emmert answers questions during a news conference at the Final Four college basketball tournament in Minneapolis. Emmert said the recent Supreme Court ruling against the NCAA along with the lifting of restrictions on athletes monetizing their fame should be a catalyst to "rethink" what college sports has been about. “When you have an environment like that it just forces us to think more about what constraints should be put in place ever on college athletes. Since July 1, college athletes have been diving into the new market with deals big and small. The Supreme Court ruling against the NCAA last month was also seen as a bombshell, a 9-0 decision upholding a lower court ruling in an antitrust case related to caps on compensation.

NCAA President Mark Emmert is suggesting it could be time for a decentralized and deregulated version of college sports.

The NCAA has cleared the way for athletes to profit off their fame and celebrity.

NCAA Compensating Athletes FILE - In this April 4, 2019, file photo, NCAA President Mark Emmert answers questions at a news conference at the Final Four college basketball tournament in Minneapolis. Without NCAA action, athletes in some states could be making money without putting their college eligibility in jeopardy while their counterparts in other states could be in danger of breaking NCAA rules. Last week, Emmert sent a letter to membership urging legislative action on NIL rules or he would take executive action on a temporary solution. The NCAA Division I Council met Tuesday and Wednesday but was not expected to take any action on NIL. After the ruling, Emmert stressed the high court still puts authority to govern college sports in the hands of the association.

NCAA President Mark Emmert says the association is working on interim rules to permit athletes to earn money from their fame by July.

Schools recruiting top athletes could now offer tens of thousands of dollars in education-related benefits that also include study-abroad programs and graduate scholarships. The high court agreed with a lower court's determination that NCAA limits on the education-related benefits that colleges can offer athletes who play Division I basketball and football violate antitrust laws. The case is important in the short term for students who may see schools competing for talent by sweetening their offers with a variety of education-related benefits. It's also important in the long term because it sets the stage for future challenges to NCAA rules limiting athletes' compensation. “It is our hope that this victory in the battle for college athletes’ rights will carry on a wave of justice uplifting further aspects of athlete compensation," said Steve Berman, an attorney for the former college athletes, in a statement following the ruling.

The high court said specifically that NCAA limits on the education-related benefits that colleges can offer athletes who play Division I basketball and football violate antitrust laws. That is important in the short term for students who may see schools competing for talent by sweetening their offers with a variety of education-related benefits. It's also important in the long term because it sets the stage for future challenges to NCAA rules limiting athletes' compensation. “It is our hope that this victory in the battle for college athletes’ rights will carry on a wave of justice uplifting further aspects of athlete compensation," said Steve Berman, an attorney for the former college athletes, in a statement following the ruling. “This is the fair treatment college athletes deserve.”The court's ruling comes at a time when the NCAA has already been debating how to amend its rules to allow college athletes to profit from their names, images and likenesses, often abbreviated NIL.

The Supreme Court has ruled unanimously in favor of athletes in the latest case in the decades-long fight over whether and how colleges can compensate their sports stars.

In that memo obtained by AP, Emmert said if membership did not act on an NIL proposal, he was prepared to take executive action. The NCAA has asked Congress for a federal NIL law that would preempt state laws and help provide a uniform standard for its more than 1,100 member schools. The six conferences said the NCAA’s proposal would be vulnerable to legal challenges and would be invalid in states with their own NIL laws. They also sent a proposed alternative to the NCAA's current NIL proposal that would go into effect July 1 if adopted. The proposal would allow athletes in states with NIL laws to follow those laws when they go into effect.

Six Division I conferences are urging the NCAA to implement a stopgap measure that would allow college athletes to earn money off their fame before a federal law is passed.

The NCAA Division I Council meets Tuesday and Wednesday and could act on an NIL proposal that has been stalled since January. "By July, all our athletes should be provided NIL opportunities regardless of the state they happen to live in," Emmert wrote in the memo. The NCAA has asked Congress for help in the form of a federal NIL law that would set uniform standards and preempt state laws. Emmert wrote that if NCAA rules changes are not in place by July, he will take action. We will provide more details next week as this approach is reviewed by the NCAA Board of Governors and the divisional governance bodies,” he wrote.

NCAA President Mark Emmert says he will seek temporary rules as early as July to ensure all athletes can be compensated for their celebrity.

Nearly 20 states will soon allow NCAA athletes to accept cash for the use of their image, name and likeness. Many say the result will be unfair advantages for some schools unless Congress acts.

Scott Applewhite) (J. Scott Applewhite)A federal law governing how college athletes can earn money off their fame seems certain to pass — at some point. “There is broad consensus that Congress should pass a law that grants athletes NIL rights," Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) But less than a month before NIL laws go into effect in several states, NCAA President Mark Emmert was back in Washington renewing his plea for help from Congress. Emmert reiterated the NCAA wants a national NIL law that would preempt state laws, keep college athletes from being employees of their schools and provide limited antitrust protection from future litigation. Most of the state laws that have been passed also place some limitations on the types of NIL deals athletes can do.

A federal law governing how college athletes can earn money off their fame seems like a certainty.

The NCAA selected Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee to host softball regionals despite the states passing legislation blocking transgender athletes.

The NCAA also has been considering changes to its NIL rules, a move that would fundamentally alter a system of amateurism.

The NCAA Board of Governors has voted to extend the contract of President Mark Emmert by two years through 2025.

The Associated Press has learned that the NCAA has not tested players for performance-enhancing drugs at March Madness and other recent college championships.

Three men's college basketball players say they heard “a lot of talk” from NCAA President Mark Emmert during a video call to discuss their concerns.

A new AP survey of athletic directors and conversations with ADs and conference commissioners during March Madness show concern about what would happen to women's college sports under proposals that would put more money in the pockets of some athletes.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)SAN ANTONIO – NCAA President Mark Emmert promised the Women's Basketball Coaches Association he will work with coaches to fix the “stark difference” between the Division I men's and women's tournaments. He asked Emmert what he could do to make sure those people give women's basketball the same advantages and opportunities. “Maybe that’s what has to happen in women’s basketball?” Auriemma said. "Maybe women’s basketball has got to separate itself from the other women’s sports? Yet for the women's Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, only “NCAA Women's Basketball” was in the middle of the court.

The three players used the Twitter hashtag #NotNCAAProperty to raise awareness of what they believe are inequities in college sports two days before the men’s basketball tournament started in Indianapolis. The players had originally asked to meet with Emmert last week. The players urged him to meet with them sooner and Huma said the NCAA reached out this week to set up Thursday's meeting. The men's tournament is being held in Indianapolis, with the final two spots in the Final Four being determined Tuesday night. ___More AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and updated bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket

FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2020, file photo, NCAA President Mark Emmert testifies during a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing on intercollegiate athlete compensation on Capitol Hill in Washington. AdBecause of the pandemic, the NCAA took the unprecedented step of staging both basketball tournaments in single geographic locations this year. DeGioia said Emmert has been attentive to the need for reform while negotiating the complications of the NCAA's shared governance structure. DeGioia made clear the board is with Emmert. ___More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

“Clearly we should have had better communication between my teams,” Emmert said in a 30-minute interview with The Associated Press on Friday. "Clearly we should have really had a better focus on a number of those details that are hardly details, but are really, really important. “We dropped the ball in San Antonio in the women’s basketball tournament,” Emmert said. Emmert said the popular nickname could be used for the women's tournament if organizers and those who support the game want it. “The mark March Madness isn’t exclusively the men’s basketball mark and it wasn’t intended in that context,” he said.

Texas Longhorns huddle during the second half against the UCLA Bruins in the second round game of the 2021 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at the Alamodome on March 24, 2021 in San Antonio, Texas. The National Collegiate Athletic Association's treatment of the women's basketball tournament has gained more political attention. Led by U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., 36 members of Congress wrote to NCAA President Mark Emmert seeking answers for last week's weight room disparity in San Antonio, the site of the women's Division I basketball tournament. The letter calls for the NCAA to honor Title IX, which forbids gender discrimination throughout federally funded education institutions. "The players on the women's and men's teams have not been treated equally by the NCAA," the letter says.

(AP Photo/Robert Franklin)The Latest on the second round of the NCAA Tournament (all times Eastern):___12:15 p.m. The leader of an organization that advocates for fairness in the treatment of college athletics has requested that NCAA President Mark Emmert meet via videoconference Tuesday with basketball players who launched the #NotNCAAProperty movement. Ad“It’s really important what we did, to continue to create awareness,” Bohannon said. “You saw from the women’s standpoint, a couple days ago, the women speaking out about the weight room being different. Look at Mark Emmert, he was nowhere to be found to answer any questions.

Lisa Moeller takes a photo of the NCAA bracket for the NCAA college basketball tournament on the side of the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis. The National College Players Association, a college athlete advocacy group, released a statement late Wednesday that detailed the players' goals. Meanwhile, at the women's basketball tournament in San Antonio, those players were forcing the NCAA to deal with a different kind of equity issue. Attorney Tim Nevius, a former NCAA investigator, said college athletes are increasingly aware of their power to effect change. “These are warning shots,” he said, “until they’re not.”___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and updated bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket

The National College Players Association, an advocacy group for college athletes, said in a statement Wednesday night that player from at least 15 teams competing in the men's basketball tournament tweeted in support of #NotNCAAProperty. — Meetings with state and federal lawmakers and Biden administration officials to advocate for laws that give college athletes physical, academic and financial protections. The group said it also hoping for a Supreme Court ruling in support of the plaintiffs in Alston v. NCAA. Earlier this year he was among several college athletes in Iowa to publicly back the state legislature's NIL bill. Football players from the Pac-12 threatened boycotts over concerns about COVID-19 protocols, social justice issues and economic rights for college athletes.

Despite the current gridlock, Emmert said he is still hopeful the NCAA will have uniform national NIL rules in place before the start of next football season. The ruling did not include NIL compensation. Meanwhile, the NCAA is facing pressure from dozens of states that have bills in the works related to NIL compensation for college athletes. But lawmakers in Washington have other priorities right now and aren't likely to move on any of those bills until the Supreme Court weighs in. Currently, NCAA rules require Division I football, basketball, baseball and hockey players to sit out a season after transferring to another DI school.

FILE - In this April 4, 2019, file photo, NCAA President Mark Emmert answers questions during a news conference at the Final Four college basketball tournament in Minneapolis. More importantly, all of our college athletes are profoundly disappointed and I suspect even angry. Delrahim said the NCAA’s transfer rules could also be in conflict with antitrust laws. Emmert also voiced his opposition to critics who are pushing for schools in the Power Five conferences to break away from the NCAA and govern themselves. Emmert acknowledged, without naming football and men's basketball, that some sports generate significant revenue but that the NCAA model serves the interests of the participants.

“The Council remains fully committed to modernizing Division I rules in ways that benefit all student-athletes,” said Council chairwoman M. Grace Calhoun, athletics director at Pennsylvania. Also, athletes would not be permitted to endorse products or companies such as alcohol or gambling that conflict with NCAA values. Delrahim said the NCAA’s transfer rules could also be in conflict with antitrust laws. Another factor is that the turnover in Congress could slow the process of passing federal legislation the NCAA is seeking to create uniformity in NIL rules. Six states have passed bills allowing college athletes to cash in on their names, images and likenesses.

“Ultimately, the antitrust laws demand that college athletes, like everyone else in our free market economy, benefit appropriately from competition,” Delrahim wrote. Now, the next step in a process that began almost two years will be a meeting between Emmert and NCAA lawyers and DOJ officials. College sports officials have argued it would be impossible to manage a national organization if different states have different rules. No matter what NIL rules the NCAA comes up with, lawmakers likely will have the last word. And we warrant the ability to do that.”But for now, the potentially historic change to NCAA rules is heading for indefinite hold.

The College Athletes Bill of Rights is sponsored by U.S. The College Athletes Bill of Rights is sponsored by Sens. Booker and Blumenthal's bill, however, goes way beyond NIL rights for athletes and is not nearly as NCAA-friendly. Bohannon said during the pandemic college athletes, who are tested multiple times a week for COVID-19, have become essential workers. — Establish a nine-member Commission on College Athletics, appointed by the president, that would include at least five former college athletes and individuals with legal expertise.

FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2020, file photo, NCAA President Mark Emmert testifies during a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing on intercollegiate athlete compensation on Capitol Hill in Washington. And the sporting world hasn’t collapsed,” Emmert told AP. It recommended the creation of the National College Football Association, an independent body to oversee FBS. Major college football, the commission concluded, has created inequities across all NCAA sports and hinder the association's ability to govern equitably. Emmert called the recommendation “exactly the wrong thing to do.” He told AP he agrees football has "an outsized influence” over college sports.

The survey results went public the day before the NCAA Division I Council approved two proposals that will lift longstanding restrictions on college athletes. The survey found strong support for reforming the way Division I is governed (74%) and restructuring D-I altogether (73%). NCAA Division I is comprised of 351 schools that range from massive Power Five football schools such as Ohio State, Alabama and Texas to small private universities mostly focused on trying to access the lucrative NCAA men’s basketball tournament. She cited the conference-by-conference approach to staging this major college football season as an example of the NCAA's inability to bring leaders together to find big-picture solutions. ___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

A group of senators led by Cory Booker of New Jersey and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut on Thursday released a plan for reforming college sports with an athletes bill or rights. The legislative plan calls for college athletes to have the ability to earn money for their names, images and likenesses with minimal restrictions, and much more. The senators also want to ensure for the athletes long-term medical coverage and treatment, enforceable medical standards, academic freedom and revenue sharing agreements. Booker and Blumenthal questioned Emmert about athlete welfare and said then their plan for a bill of rights was in the works. ___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

(AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)As college football leaders work to rescue a football season worth billions in revenue from the threat of COVID-19, the players have become emboldened. A group of Pac-12 players Sunday presented a list of demands on issues ranging from healthy and safety to racial justice to economic rights. The players claim more than 400 of their Pac-12 peers have been communicating through a group chat app about a possible boycott. I think its all attainable, said attorney Tim Nevius, a former NCAA investigator who has now represents college players in cases involving NCAA issues. These recent events have put a spotlight on critical issues in college sports.___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., takes his seat, Wednesday, July 22, 2020, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to examine protecting the integrity of college athletics, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., takes his seat, Wednesday, July 22, 2020, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to examine protecting the integrity of college athletics, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The NCAA is in the process of crafting legislation to change change its rules and permit college athletes to earn money for things like endorsement and sponsorship deals, appearance fees and social media promotions. But it's very important to note the NCAA is not seeking a broad-based antitrust exemption as some people have suggested. The NCAA wants to have some regulation of name, image and likeness compensation to prevent payments to athletes from being used as inducements in recruiting. The (Power Five) proposals are too restrictive to benefit college athletes, Booker said.

The Southeastern Conference was the biggest spender, hiring three lobbying firms and paying them a total of $140,000, according to lobbying disclosure forms reviewed by The Associated Press. The Southeastern Conference was the biggest spender, hiring three lobbying firms and paying them a total of $140,000, according to lobbying disclosure forms reviewed by The Associated Press. The Big Ten paid $20,000 to the firms working for all the Power Five but did not hire its own dedicated lobbyist. The ACC and the Big 12 each spent $60,000 $40,000 on their own lobbyists and $20,000 on the Power Five firms. Both conferences had the same lobbyists last year, the first year either had spent significant money to influence members of Congress.

click to enlarge Image via Visit Tampa BayThe NCAA COVID-19 Advisory Panel recognizes the fluidity of COVID-19 and its impact on hosting events in a public space. COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in the United States, and behavioral risk mitigation strategies are the best option for slowing the spread of this disease. This is especially important because mildly symptomatic individuals can transmit COVID-19. Given these considerations, coupled with a more unfavorable outcome of COVID-19 in older adults especially those with underlying chronic medical conditions we recommend against sporting events open to the public. We do believe sport events can take place with only essential personnel and limited family attendance, and this protects our players, employees, and fans.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association's upcoming men's and women's basketball tournaments will be played with "only essential staff and limited family attendance," NCAA president Mark Emmert said in a statement Wednesday. No public fans will be allowed to attend. "The NCAA continues to assess the impact of COVID-19 in consultation with public health officials and our COVID-19 advisory panel," Emmert's statement said. "This decision is in the best interest of public health, including that of coaches, administrators, fans and, most importantly, our student-athletes." The West Regional games are scheduled to be played March 26-28 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

NCAA president: Unionizing student athletes not a good idea NCAA President Mark Emmert says other college athletics programs would be "deeply threatened" if football and basketball student athletes were permitted to unionize.