BIll was signed by Gov. Youngkin on Thursday.
The law specifically states athletes are not university employees. I live in VA, and this bill was so under the radar here that not only did I not know about it, the AD for Liberty University didn't know about it. UVA and VT very quietly worked with the legislature to get this done. The NIL legislation currently pending in Nebraska and five other states would only allow schools to directly pay athletes if NCAA rules allow it, or if there's a federal law. I suspect Nebraska and other P4 schools will ask their state legislatures to change the wording of those bills now.
The recent NCAA Division 1 Council vote that passed rules allowing schools to "facilitate" NIL deals was held before this bill became law. The Division 1 Board of Directors still has to approve those rules changes, which they were expected to do next week. No word on whether the Board of Directors will approve those rules or if the NCAA will go back to the drawing board. Back in February, Virginia and Tennessee won a preliminary injunction against NCAA rules prohibiting schools from using NIL in recruiting, so I have no doubt Virginia's AG would sue if the NCAA attempts to prevent Virginia schools from directly paying athletes. UVA definitely has the money, so does Liberty.
VT I'm less sure about. Their fans are just as passonate, but they've had some trouble turning that passion into donations, either for facilities or NIL. When former VT women's basketball coach Kenny Brooks took the job at Kentucky, he basically said he did it because UK had a better NIL budget for women's bball than VT. Since Frank Beamer retired, VT hasn't been winning in-state football recruiting battles against UVA or out of state schools like UMD or UNC on a regular basis like they used to do either.
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The law specifically states athletes are not university employees. I live in VA, and this bill was so under the radar here that not only did I not know about it, the AD for Liberty University didn't know about it. UVA and VT very quietly worked with the legislature to get this done. The NIL legislation currently pending in Nebraska and five other states would only allow schools to directly pay athletes if NCAA rules allow it, or if there's a federal law. I suspect Nebraska and other P4 schools will ask their state legislatures to change the wording of those bills now.
The recent NCAA Division 1 Council vote that passed rules allowing schools to "facilitate" NIL deals was held before this bill became law. The Division 1 Board of Directors still has to approve those rules changes, which they were expected to do next week. No word on whether the Board of Directors will approve those rules or if the NCAA will go back to the drawing board. Back in February, Virginia and Tennessee won a preliminary injunction against NCAA rules prohibiting schools from using NIL in recruiting, so I have no doubt Virginia's AG would sue if the NCAA attempts to prevent Virginia schools from directly paying athletes. UVA definitely has the money, so does Liberty.
VT I'm less sure about. Their fans are just as passonate, but they've had some trouble turning that passion into donations, either for facilities or NIL. When former VT women's basketball coach Kenny Brooks took the job at Kentucky, he basically said he did it because UK had a better NIL budget for women's bball than VT. Since Frank Beamer retired, VT hasn't been winning in-state football recruiting battles against UVA or out of state schools like UMD or UNC on a regular basis like they used to do either.
Virginia law allows schools to pay athletes for NIL
Schools in Virginia will be able to directly pay athletes via name, image and likeness deals thanks to a state law signed Thursday morning.
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