CHANGE: NCAA Clears Way for Athletes to Earn Endorsement Money.

The move came amid growing pressure from legislators, a month after California passed a law requiring schools in the state to allow college athletes to earn endorsement money, and represents a stark shift in policy.

In a concession the NCAA had long resisted, the organization’s governing board directed its three divisions to immediately consider changing the rules governing such benefits for athletes, and to make any such changes no later than January 2021.

We must embrace change,” said Michael Drake, chair of the board and president of Ohio State University.

The details of the new policy are yet to be determined. The NCAA said it must be “in a manner consistent with the collegiate model,” making clear that compensation for performance or participation is still prohibited, among other conditions. But the directive nonetheless paves the way for a scrambled financial landscape in college sports.

College athletes, who have remained largely cut off from the profits of what has grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry, may soon be able to earn related income without jeopardizing their eligibility to compete.

It isn’t that I’m against this move, it’s just that I’m wondering how long before they’ll dispense with the fiction that all of these college athletes are actually earning real degrees.