College athletics is changing and one Big Ten athletic director is worried about where things are heading, especially when it comes to Name, Image and Likeness.
The concept of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), fought against so bitterly by the NCAA for decades, has turned whatever was left of amateurism in college sports completely on its head. Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs didn’t hold back when asked his thoughts on NIL and where things stand with the student-athletes now being able to get paid and sign endorsement deals.
The whole concept of NIL is very loosely regulated, to say the least, leading Hobbs to certainly unload (with some well-placed indignation). To be clear, Hobbs isn’t against the concept of NIL but how it has been implemented by the NCAA.
Hobbs spoke about NIL on Monday during an appearance on the Big Ten Network.
“We’re in the wild wild west. And I mean, it’s a completely unregulated field right now. The last guidance we got was nine months ago, after the Supreme Court ruling and Austin and the NCAA came out with pretty brief guidance about it. shouldn’t be university involvement, there shouldn’t be paid pay to play, it shouldn’t be incentive-based,” Hobbs said on BTN.
“If you really believe some of the stories we’re hearing around the country, I think people are going past those guardrails all the time. That’s not something we’re going to do. We’re going to continue to monitor it where our student-athletes can make money off their Name, Image and Likeness. That’s great. That’s wonderful. To the extent that we can educate and do the things that we need to do, we’ll continue to do that.”
Hobbs then said that the situation has gotten to a crucial point and that the NCAA and conferences need to step up to provide regulation.
Louisiana became the latest state to allow high school athletes to benefit from NIL. Arizona could well be next.
It is easy to see how boosters can use NIL at this level to influence a…
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