In this week’s Film Room, we:
- Break down an updated NCAA Q&A, which crystallizes the permissible competitive advantage offered by Designated Student-Athletes
- Provide a roundup of recently filed notices of appeal in House
The Updated Q&A Specifies Designated Student-Athlete Opportunity and Impact
On July 2, 2025, the NCAA released an updated Q&A regarding House settlement implementation. The update includes details regarding the treatment of Designated Student-Athletes (DSAs). Those details highlight the potential role of DSAs in contributing to a permissible competitive advantage, particularly in football where deeper rosters can really help a team.
In the June 18, 2025, edition of Film Room, we noted key DSA considerations, including how this new category will enable institutions to carry roster sizes above the new settlement-imposed roster limits as a result of DSAs retaining DSA status following transfers and for the duration of their eligibility. The updated Q&A expounds on these concepts, clarifying that DSAs keep their status for the duration of their eligibility “regardless of whether the individual remains enrolled at the Participating Institution that declared the individual a Designated Student-Athlete or transfers to another Participating Institution” (Q&A C14).
We also shared that institutions were required to identify DSAs by July 6, 2025, and that the membership could expect a flurry of transfers in the weeks that follow. On July 2, 2025, the NCAA issued a blanket waiver permitting newly identified DSAs “to provide notification of transfer and enter the NCAA Transfer Portal outside of a designated transfer window from Monday, July 7, 2025 through Tuesday, August 5, 2025.” The updated Q&A adds that institutions may provide “an athletics scholarship and/or settlement-related benefits” to DSAs and that DSAs will “continue to be exempt from a sport’s roster limit” (Q&A C42).
As we previously flagged, the ability to go above roster limits by enrolling (and providing benefits to) DSAs provides programs that are willing to carry a larger roster a potential advantage during the next several years in which DSAs compete.
Additional Notices of Appeal in House – Impact and What to Expect
Over the past week, several additional notices of appeal were filed in the House case. Specifically, objectors (1) Rivera and Deakin, (2) Phillips, (3) Menke et al., and (4) Anderson and Castellanos filed notices of appeal. A few notes regarding the appealing athletes:
- Rivera, a former wrestler at Northwestern and a 2024 Olympian, previously objected to the settlement’s treatment of the “Additional Sports Class,” among other things
- Phillips, a former walk-on football student-athlete at Arkansas, objected to the settlement’s treatment of current and former walk-on football student-athletes
- Menke, a former Yale crew student-athlete, previously objected to the settlement on grounds alleging discrimination against female athletes and Title IX violations
- Castellanos, a Florida State football student-athlete, and Anderson, a former Seton Hall basketball student-athlete, joined in an appeal; as reported by USA Today’s Steve Berkowitz, Castellanos’ prior objection questioned the College Football Playoff’s role in the settlement
Like the appeals initiated by objectors last month, these appeals should not impact the go-forward, injunctive relief aspects of the House settlement (like, for example, institutional payments to student-athletes and the formation of the College Sports Commission). They will, however, delay the back-damages payments to former student-athletes, which cannot go into effect until all appeals challenging the final settlement are fully resolved. Based on scheduling orders, opening briefs by appellants are expected to be submitted to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in September.
