New NIL, health and academic benefits take effect for NCAA student-athletes Thursday

This is a big deal!

A series of reforms that deliver increased benefits to college athletes — including expanded health care coverage, increased mental health support and academic guarantees — take effect Thursday after a series of rules changes adopted by the NCAA Board of Governors and Division I members.

Also included in the benefits are a new name, image and likeness resource center; increased opportunities for student-athletes to receive help with arranging NIL deals; and a post-eligibility insurance program that benefits student-athletes in all three divisions.

"The NCAA is making changes to deliver more benefits to student-athletes for their academic success and health and well-being," NCAA President Charlie Baker said. "Today's progress was made possible by DI membership committing to these investments and by student-athlete leaders leading the charge for these long overdue changes."

Core guarantees

In April 2023, the Division I Board of Directors unanimously adopted new rules — also known as "core guarantees" — that require increased support for all Division I student-athletes, effective Aug. 1, 2024.

The core guarantees include benefits that must be provided to all Division I student-athletes as a condition of their school's membership in Division I. The benefits were originally recommended by the Division I Transformation Committee in January 2023.

All schools with Division I sports programs must:

• Provide medical coverage for athletically related injuries for at least two years after graduation.

• Cover out-of-pocket medical expenses (copayments, deductibles, etc.) during a student-athlete's playing career.

• Offer degree-completion funds for up to 10 years after a college athlete's eligibility concludes, if that college athlete was previously on full scholarship or received financial aid in a head count sport.

• Provide the same scholarship protections already required of autonomy conferences.

• Attest that they provide career counseling for current and former college athletes and life skills development across a range of topics, including at minimum:

  • Mental health.

  • Strength and conditioning.

  • Nutrition.

  • Name, image and likeness opportunities.

  • Financial literacy.

  • Career preparation.

  • Transfer requirements.

  • Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.

  • Sexual violence prevention.

• Attest that they provide mental health services and support consistent with the NCAA's Mental Health Best Practices.

• Attest that they follow concussion management protocols in line with the NCAA Concussion Safety Protocol Checklist.

• Attest that they provide academic support services in line with NCAA rules.

NIL resources

The NCAA on Thursday launched NCAA NIL Assist, a platform designed to connect student-athletes with potential service providers, facilitate disclosures of NIL activities, and provide student-athletes with access to educational resources and insight into evolving trends within the NIL environment.

The mobile-friendly, web-based platform — available to member schools, student-athletes and their families — includes:

• A voluntary registry where agents and other interested professional service providers can submit information about their offerings and seek potential student-athlete clients.

• A "rate your experience" tool allowing student-athletes to share reviews of those same service providers, so other student-athletes can feel informed when engaging in the NIL market.

• A simple process by which NCAA schools can submit NIL disclosure data.

• Aggregated data with identifying information removed and trends about NIL agreements, including the ability to sort by subdivision, conference, sport and player position.

• Access to educational programming related to NIL, including resources about NCAA rules, tax implications and intellectual property.