NCAA pauses adoption of new likeness rules, still committed to changes

The Division I Council won't meet its January 2021 deadline for changing the rules relating to how athletes can benefit from their names, images, and likenesses, as well as rules regarding eligibility requirements for transfer students, due to "several external factors, including recent correspondence with the U.S. Department of Justice," the NCAA announced Monday.

However, the group still plans to continue to build toward realizing these goals, in line with the Board of Governor's initial direction.

"The Council remains fully committed to modernizing Division I rules in ways that benefit all student-athletes," Council chair and Penn athletics director M. Grace Calhoun said in a statement. "Unfortunately, external factors require this pause, and the Council will use this time to enhance the proposals."

Similarly, Division II and Division III have proposals for rule changes relating to the athletes' names, images, and likenesses up for consideration. NCAA president Mark Emmert also recommended those decisions be tabled for now.

The Division I Council did, however, vote to amend rules relating to how often programs and conferences must undergo an equity, diversity, and inclusion review; rather than every five years, parties must now complete the reviews every four years.