The SEC is moving lock step on an affiliation agreement, paving the way for the conference to move forward smoothly once the House settlement is finalized. Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger first reported on the affiliation agreement.
According to Dellenger, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said all 16 league schools agreed to an affiliation agreement. So what is that, exactly?
It’s an agreement for the league’s schools to comply with the House settlement, even in instances where state laws could be used to violate new enforcement rules. The agreement will also require schools to waive their right to pursue legal challenges against the new enforcement entity created under the House settlement, dubbed the College Sports Commission.
Essentially, the league will play nicely with the new transition coming in the sport. And that’s no small deal, either.
In some states, like Tennessee, bills have been passed to allow schools to circumvent House settlement-related rules. Some of those same bills also prevent enforcement by the CSC.
The schools jointly agreeing to an affiliation agreement helps clear that hurdle and keep everyone on the same page. The nature of the upcoming transformation in college athletics could otherwise create some hard schisms.
To that end, the stakes for signing an affiliation agreement are high. Writes Yahoo! Sports:
The consequence for not signing the agreement is steep: a school risks the loss of conference membership and participation against other power league programs.
“You have to sign it,” says one athletic director who has seen the document, “or we don’t play you.”
Of course, there’s still plenty left to unfold in the House settlement itself. It has been in a relative state of limbo for the past few weeks now, with a looming decision to approve or deny the settlement in the hands of Judge Claudia Wilken.
Until the House settlement is approved, programs cannot sign a finalized version of the affiliation agreement. That document has seen numerous modifications already, and it likely won’t be finalized until all details are clear.
Still, the SEC plans to move in a coordinated fashion on this. That’s a major bit of news.
