North Dakota Athletics to opt in to House Settlement
PHOTO/LEIGHTON CHAMBLEE
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND ATHLETICS)– The University of North Dakota has made the decision to opt in to the terms of the House v. NCAA settlement beginning in the 2025-26 athletic season, Director of Athletics Bill Chaves announced on Friday.
“Today, we sent the NCAA our intent to opt in to the House settlement,” said Chaves. “As an NCAA Division I member, in a non-defendant conference, our thought process has always been to do what is best for our student-athletes and the University of North Dakota. With the information that we have today and the requirement to make a decision by Monday, June 30, we felt that this was the most prudent course of action. There was always a chance that when the final settlement occurred that it could be different than what was initially provided by both the plaintiffs’ and defendants’ attorneys and sure enough that was the case.”
“Given that roster grandfathering can only occur should institutions opt in at this moment of time, we believe that opting in is best for UND,” continued Chaves. “Additionally, I believe the opportunity to expand our partnership with our teammates at the UND Alumni Association & Foundation, 1883 Collective and Ralph Engelstad Arena will provide us the best situation possible for our student-athletes this year and beyond. Further, the ability to potentially provide additional support through internal NIL will be intriguing for UND as we traverse this new era of college athletics.”
House Settlement Background
The “House Settlement” refers to three consolidated federal antitrust class action lawsuits brought against the NCAA and Autonomy Five (A5) conferences which are commonly referred to as the House case. These cases allege that the NCAA’s restrictions on the monetization of name, image and likeness (NIL) payments prevented student-athletes from realizing their true market value. The claimed damages include lost revenues from NIL, broadcast rights and video games.
The “House Settlement” refers to three consolidated federal antitrust class action lawsuits brought against the NCAA and Autonomy Five (A5) conferences which are commonly referred to as the House case. These cases allege that the NCAA’s restrictions on the monetization of name, image and likeness (NIL) payments prevented student-athletes from realizing their true market value. The claimed damages include lost revenues from NIL, broadcast rights and video games.
The parties reached a proposed settlement which received preliminary approval from the court on October 7, 2024, and final approval on June 6, 2025. Non-defendant schools (schools not in the A5 conferences), such as UND, had until June 30, 2025, to declare their intent to the NCAA as to whether they are choosing to opt in to the House Settlement or to not opt in to the Settlement. UND made the decision to opt in on June 27, 2025.
The Settlement consists of three major components:
Support and Opportunities:
Universities will be permitted to directly provide additional support with student-athletes in addition to the benefits that already accompany scholarships (tuition, housing, meals, academic awards, healthcare, etc.). The Settlement sets a uniform internal NIL cap for all schools who choose to opt in equal to 22 percent of the NCAA Division I average media, ticket and scholarship revenue. For 2025-26, the internal NIL cap for each school is approximately $20.5 million and will be recalculated every three years. Although the scope and scale will look different from mid-major institutions and those in the A5, each individual school can decide how to distribute the internal NIL amongst its sports teams and student-athletes. There is no minimum required distribution. Internal NIL allows the university to manage the donor support holistically and does so in a way that allows donors to make these contributions charitably through the UND Alumni Association & Foundation.
Universities will be permitted to directly provide additional support with student-athletes in addition to the benefits that already accompany scholarships (tuition, housing, meals, academic awards, healthcare, etc.). The Settlement sets a uniform internal NIL cap for all schools who choose to opt in equal to 22 percent of the NCAA Division I average media, ticket and scholarship revenue. For 2025-26, the internal NIL cap for each school is approximately $20.5 million and will be recalculated every three years. Although the scope and scale will look different from mid-major institutions and those in the A5, each individual school can decide how to distribute the internal NIL amongst its sports teams and student-athletes. There is no minimum required distribution. Internal NIL allows the university to manage the donor support holistically and does so in a way that allows donors to make these contributions charitably through the UND Alumni Association & Foundation.
The Settlement also allows for third-party NIL payments to student-athletes. Third-party payments from an “affiliated entity” (i.e., 1883 Collective, Fighting Hawks Sports Partnerships and the Sioux Shop) must be analyzed to meet fair market value with a legitimate business purpose. Approved third-party NIL payments will not count towards the internal NIL cap and will be reviewed by an independent clearing house (NIL Go) to determine compliance with range of compensation regulations.
Back Damages:
The NCAA, which UND is a member of, along with the A5 conferences will pay approximately $2.8 billion in damages over a ten-year period to a class of former student-athletes who did not have the opportunity to benefit from their name, image and likeness (NIL). These back damages will be paid regardless of opt in or opt out status. The estimated annual damages paid by UND are projected at $250,000.
The NCAA, which UND is a member of, along with the A5 conferences will pay approximately $2.8 billion in damages over a ten-year period to a class of former student-athletes who did not have the opportunity to benefit from their name, image and likeness (NIL). These back damages will be paid regardless of opt in or opt out status. The estimated annual damages paid by UND are projected at $250,000.
Rosters/Scholarships:
Opting in to the settlement triggers roster limits for all NCAA-sponsored sports, but it also provides roster flexibility over a four-year period that opting in at a later time would not allow. In addition to roster limits, there will be no cap on scholarships up to the roster limit. That is, each institution can decide how many scholarships to award up to the total number of roster spots allotted for each sport.
Opting in to the settlement triggers roster limits for all NCAA-sponsored sports, but it also provides roster flexibility over a four-year period that opting in at a later time would not allow. In addition to roster limits, there will be no cap on scholarships up to the roster limit. That is, each institution can decide how many scholarships to award up to the total number of roster spots allotted for each sport.
To learn more about UND’s decision to opt-in, please visit FightingHawks.com/housesettlement.
