The post Legislation would give protections to Michigan college athletes seeking name, image, likeness deals appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

A local politician is pushing back against the NCAA’s latest rules regarding college athletes’ name, image and likeness rights.

State Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, introduced House Bill 4643 to prevent colleges and athletic departments from blocking student-athletes from profiting off NIL.

“House Bill 4643 really specifies that no entity has the right to be able to prohibit a student-athlete from executing a contract involving their name, image and likeness,” Tate said.

The bill prohibits universities from upholding any limitations on an athlete’s NIL rights; from complying with investigations into agency agreements, NIL agreements, NIL compensation, or NIL activities; and from reporting any NIL information to an athletic association such as the NCAA.

House Bill 4643 also prohibits the NCAA and other athletic associations from punishing an athlete or university for issues related to NIL rights, or from requiring either party to report NIL information.

The bill comes in the wake of the June 6 approval of the House v. NCAA settlement by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken. The settlement allows college athletic programs to directly compensate athletes with revenue sharing beginning July 1. A sum of nearly $2.8 billion in damages will also be distributed to athletes who competed over the past decade. But a key change in the aftermath of the settlement is the creation of an NIL clearinghouse — NIL Go, run by Deloitte.

NIL Go requires athletes to report all deals worth more than $600. It was created by the College Sports Commission, a new group tasked with enforcing NCAA regulations.

The goal of establishing NIL Go is to limit the participation of NIL collectives in pay-to-play, which has become a growing problem in college athletics according to coaches and administrators. However, as Tate points out, limiting these NIL opportunities is an issue of state law.

“We’ve seen already up to this point with the settlement outcomes,” said Tate, himself a former Michigan State offensive lineman from 2000-03, “that there are conflicts with the Michigan statute that we do have on the books allowing student-athletes to take advantage of their name, image and likeness while they are at the university that they participate in as a student.”

That previous statute, Public Act 366 of 2020, paved the way for student-athletes to profit off NIL in the state of Michigan, as a number of other states also approved at a similar time when the NCAA’s rules on NIL rights changed. House Bill 4643 would reaffirm the state’s position while addressing ways in which athletes’ NIL rights might be limited.

Ramogi Huma, executive director of the National College Players Association, noted that the House settlement itself directly stated that the settlement’s outcomes do not overrule state law.

“That’s why it remains important for states to adopt NIL laws that grant college athletes and recruits robust freedoms and protections,” Huma said. “However, I’ve seen media reports about conferences attempting to pressure universities to agree to violate their own state NIL law if they conflict with NCAA and conference NIL restrictions. It’s my sincere hope that this is not true, as it would threaten college athletes’ rights and ultimately lead to new lawsuits.”

Limiting NIL deals is unfair to student-athletes in the eyes of some detractors, including Dr. Tom Dieters, a former MSU baseball player who is now president of NIL deal-cutter Charitable Gift America.

“If a school is to allow Deloitte to determine a student’s fair market value, it completely goes against capitalism,” Dieters said. “School administrators and coaches are very quick to negotiate their own seven-figure contracts without a third party determining their value, and students should have those exact same rights.”

The path forward may see friction between individual states and the NCAA as new NIL regulations go into effect. This bill may be the first step of many in Michigan’s pushback against NIL limitations.

“Speaking as a state legislator around legislation that was passed, that’s the law of the land, the law of our state,” Tate said. “I think that is something that we would continue to address too, if we see those explicit conflicts with the NCAA in particular, trying to essentially punish student-athletes for something that is their right here in the state of Michigan.”

It’s going to take a while longer for one of Michigan State basketball’s transfers to make his Spartan debut.

Kaleb Glenn, who transferred to Michigan State from Florida Atlantic in April, suffered a right knee injury and was expected to undergo season-ending surgery on Thursday, the program announced Wednesday.

The 6-foot-7 wing was injured during a non-contact team workout on Monday. He’s expected to redshirt this upcoming season and will retain two years of NCAA eligibility.

“I feel terrible for Kaleb and for his family but we will be with them throughout this process,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said in a statement. “It’s awful that this happened just a couple of weeks after he got here in East Lansing and was working out with the guys and getting to know them.”

Glenn came as a needed addition to the Spartans’ forward rotation, one that lost Frankie Fidler to graduation and Xavier Booker to the transfer portal. He was an AAU teammate of starting point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., which had both players excited about the prospects of a reunion. Glenn averaged 12.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in his sophomore season at FAU after playing his freshman season at Louisville.

“In just a short time with us since he committed, we have really enjoyed having him and his family as part of our program,” Izzo said. ”We’re going to do everything that we can to support him and get him back on the floor.”

Glenn’s injury creates a hole in Michigan State’s lineup long after the transfer portal has closed. If Michigan State is seeking internal solutions, it might lean heavily on its returners to make up the difference, particularly Jaxon Kohler and Coen Carr.

The Wolverines and coach Dusty May went the international route to add what’s likely the final piece of their 2025 recruiting class.

Malick Kordel, a 7-foot center from Germany, has signed with Michigan, the program announced in a social media post on Friday.

Kordel visited Ann Arbor during the 2024-25 season and attended Michigan’s rivalry game against Michigan State on Feb. 21 at Crisler Center. He reportedly visited Iowa and Xavier during the winter and also received interest from Butler and Villanova.

Kordel, 21, primarily played with the Frankfurt Skyliners’ junior squad that competes in the German ProB, a third-tier pro basketball league in Germany. At that level, he averaged 11.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots in 24.2 minutes per game. He went 71.7% from the field (104-for-145) across 22 games, but only made 51.3% of his free throws (41-for-80).

Kordel, who grew up playing handball and didn’t start playing basketball competitively until 2021, joins a group of incoming freshmen that includes McDonald’s All-American Trey McKenney, four-star recruits Winters Grady and Oscar Goodman (early enrollee), and three-star wing Patrick Liburd.

Coupled with Michigan’s four transfer additions — Elliot Cadeau (North Carolina), Morez Johnson Jr. (Illinois), Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB) and Aday Mara (UCLA) — Kordel will be the ninth new face on the roster for the 2025-26 season.

Given how deep Michigan already is in the frontcourt with 7-footer Mara, Johnson, Lendeborg and Will Tschetter, minutes might be hard to come by for Kordel, a raw prospect who has upside but will need time to develop and adjust to the college game.

TRAVERSE CITY — There’s a lot riding on J Batt to be successful as Michigan State’s new athletic director. At the very least, a lot of money.

At its Friday meeting in Traverse City’s Kirkbride Hall, Michigan State’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve Batt’s six-year contract as athletic director, carrying an average of $2.1 million in base salary. The board also approved a $192 million athletic department budget that includes a $12 million loan to cover student-athlete revenue sharing, tasking Batt with making progress to balance the athletic department budget.

“Most athletics departments’ budgets are in the red to some degree,” MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz told The Detroit News, “and we’re very confident that this will be covered through some existing resource that we have in reserve, and most likely through fundraising efforts.”

Batt, 43, will be paid $1.85 million in his first year at Michigan State, with incremental raises each year up to $2.35 million his sixth year. in total, Batt’s contract totals $12.6 million and begins Tuesday, June 17, and runs through June 2031.

Guskiewicz himself makes $975,000 in base salary as MSU president, as well as $150,000 in deferred compensation each year. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel makes a base salary of $1.9 million, which rises to $2.4 million with deferred compensation. Western Michigan athletic director Dan Bartholomae makes $340,000 in base salary.

Batt has been an athletic administrator for more than 14 years, including stops at Maryland, East Carolina, Alabama and most recently Georgia Tech, where he ran the athletic department since 2022 until his June 2 hire by Michigan State. He’s a graduate of North Carolina, where he played soccer and overlapped with Guskiewicz. Batt comes as a well-regarded revenue generator and fundraiser. He is also a member of the House Settlement Implementation Committee, tasked with plotting out the new era of college athletics after the approval last week of the House v. NCAA settlement that approves revenue sharing with student athletes and removes scholarship limits for student athletes.

When he introduced Batt at a press conference June 4, Guskiewicz asserted that he told search firm TurnkeyZRG he wanted to hire a top athletic director nationally. Batt was at the top of the list, and Michigan State paid a hefty sum to bring him to East Lansing.

But Batt’s salary isn’t the only cost Michigan State paid to make a leadership change. The cost of Batt’s contract comes in addition to an estimated $1.3 million to buy out the remaining 16 months on the contract of former AD Alan Haller, who Guskiewicz terminated May 1 before embarking on a month-long search for a replacement. That search, conducted by TurnkeyZRG, cost the university $160,000. The university also has to pay Batt’s buyout to Georgia Tech, which is $2,002,380.95. If that is determined to be compensation and thus taxable, MSU will cover Batt’s tax obligations on that payout, as well.

And that’s just the start of Michigan State’s investment in Batt. After the House settlement last week approved revenue sharing for college athletes, Michigan State’s latest $192 million athletics budget for fiscal year 2026 allotted $20 million for revenue sharing, a budget also approved by a unanimous board vote. The athletic department is receiving an internal loan of more than $12 million to bridge the gap between a current deficit and the arrival of increased media rights and sponsorship revenue in 2027. The loan is expected to be paid back by the athletic department later.

Before he even officially begins his tenure as Michigan State’s athletic director, Batt already has a lot weighing on his ability to fundraise and generate revenue. Michigan State leadership is confident in his ability to deliver.

“We have a lot of faith in J,” MSU Board of Trustees chair Kelly Tebay told The News. “We’re super excited for him to start, and we’re hoping that over the course of the next few years, that he really strengthens the athletics department budget. I think that’s one thing when we brought him in was the amount of fundraising that he did at Georgia Tech was very impressive.”

It takes money to make money, but the investment is a steep expense for a university whose budget is already in a crunch thanks to continued federal cuts. Michigan State’s latest budget, approved unanimously, cut expenses 9% and raised tuition 4.5% in order to combat millions in lost revenue in the form of federal funding and grants. The cuts come as the state House passed a bill outlining millions of dollars in cuts to taxpayer money going toward Michigan universities, including a proposed $237.4 million cut for Michigan State

So where exactly does Michigan State expect its athletic department to draw the extra money from? Some of it will be generated by Batt himself through good old-fashioned fundraising, but some also will come from traditional revenue streams of TV deals and sponsorships. In July 2023, Big Ten member schools signed a seven-year, $7 billion media rights deal with Fox. Guskiewicz said there will be increased revenue from that deal.

“In order to have a top-tier athletics program — you heard J Batt say it, we are top 10, and we will be top 10 — we have to get creative around new sources of revenue,” Guskiewicz said. “And J is an expert in that. We also are fortunate to have a very good media deal that was secured for the Big Ten a few years ago. And we’re going to see increased revenue coming in from that over the next few years. And, again, there will be a new day with regard to fundraising for sport and athletics.”

“College athletics is changing aggressively,” Tebay said. “And I think we have to really stay on top of that in order to make sure our student athletes have the best possible experience at MSU.”

Batt has hit the ground running to make his mark in fundraising. Before Michigan State could even formally introduce him June 4, he was making calls to donors.

“We have a new athletics director who’s one of the nation’s very best in fundraising, and so we will soon be in the black,” Guskiewicz said. “I’m very confident in that, given that J Batt is committed to connecting with our donor base, which he’s already started doing over the past 10 days.”

Batt’s contract, signed by Guskiewicz on June 12, also includes a $5 million buyout for his first two contract years, lowered to $4 million in his third year, $3 million in his fourth year and $2 million in his fifth. If Batt leaves Michigan State in the final year of his contract, he owes no buyout.

Predecessor Alan Haller’s contract was laden with predetermined bonuses for regular-season and postseason success of his teams. Batt’s contract says he and Guskiewicz will outline performance goals annually, on or before June 20. Batt also will be reimbursed for his relocation to East Lansing.

Staff writer Tony Paul contributed

Michigan State has reached a key step in the NCAA’s investigation into violations the university self-reported.

According to the NCAA’s Division I infractions dashboard, Michigan State has received a notice of allegations for self-reported violations dating to August 2023. Only Level I and II violations are tracked by the dashboard.

NCAA enforcement deals with three levels of violations. Level III violations (“secondary” violations) are the lowest tier and are usually processed by enforcement staff itself, usually resulting in minimal penalties. Level I and II violations are more severe, submitted to the Committee on Infractions. Michigan State’s violations fall into the latter category, though The Detroit News is unable to confirm the exact level.

The Detroit News reached out to a Michigan State spokesperson for comment.

Michigan State president Kevin Guskiewicz told The Detroit News on April 2 that the university was under investigation for recruiting violations during the tenure of football coach Mel Tucker. The News has not verified whether that is the same violation referenced by the NCAA infractions dashboard, though the timelines match.

“We’re trying to make the case that this is a whole new coaching staff,” Guskiewicz told The News’ editorial board, referring to Jonathan Smith, who was named MSU’s head football coach Nov. 25, 2023.

Tucker became Michigan State’s 25th head football coach in February 2020, but left embroiled in scandal in September 2023 after rape survivor and activist Brenda Tracy filed a sexual harassment claim with Michigan State. The university terminated Tucker’s record-breaking 10-year, $95 million contract, saying that he violated a “moral turpitude.” Tucker is suing Michigan State in federal court for wrongful termination, while Tracy is suing Tucker in civil court for defamation.

The NCAA’s investigation into these self-reported violations began Aug. 29, 2023, as a result of Michigan State’s self-report. After more than a year of document requests and interviews, NCAA enforcement held a review board Nov. 6, 2024. Michigan State selected its initial resolution method — a written-record hearing — Dec. 13, 2024, before the NCAA approved this selection Jan. 23 following a meeting with Committee on Infractions chair Kay Norton.

Once given a notice of allegations, one of four resolutions can occur. If a school agrees with the investigation and accepts its findings and corresponding penalties, the case is closed via negotiated resolution. If a school agrees with the facts and level of violations but not classification or penalties, it can proceed via summary disposition. If a school disagrees with the investigation, it can request a hearing in front of the Committee on Infractions. Or, if there is “limited disagreement” between a school and NCAA enforcement, the case can proceed in a written record hearing.

Michigan State’s selection of a written record hearing means it accepted some of the NCAA investigation’s facts, violations or level of violation found. As part of this process, involved parties submit allegations, their level of agreement and remaining issues with written submissions to the Committee on Infractions. According to the NCAA website, the committee will focus on the contested portions of the case and decide violations and penalties on the written record. After deliberation of the written record, the committee will determine whether violations occurred and prescribe penalties.

Schools have 90 days to respond in writing to a notice of allegations, though extensions may be provided. According to the NCAA website, the notice of allegations is provided to institutional officials such as a school’s president, athletic director, compliance director and faculty athletics representative, as well as those “at risk for involvement in violations” including head coaches and other staffers.

Schools have the right to appeal decisions to the Infractions Appeals Committee. According to the NCAA, this committee affirms whether information in the record supports what the Committee on Infractions decided. In the case that the appeals committee decides that “no reasonable person” could have made the Committee on Infractions’ decision, then the appeals committee may set aside the previous decision.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Jenissa Conway drove in the first run with a double in the top of the sixth inning and Lauren Derkowski and Erin Hoehn combined on a three-hitter as the eighth-seeded Michigan Wolverines completed an improbable run to the Big Ten Tournament championship with a 2-0 victory over the second-seeded UCLA Bruins on Saturday.

The Wolverines (38-19) advanced to the title game with a 5-0 victory over the No. 1 seed Oregon Ducks in the quarterfinals and a 4-2 semifinal win over the tournament host and 12th-seeded Purdue Boilermakers. It was Michigan’s second straight Big Ten tourney title and its 12th overall.

Indiana Langford started the rally for Michigan when she singled off UCLA starter Addisen Fisher (16-2) and took second on an error by left fielder Rylee Slimp. Conway plated Langford when she doubled to center and Ella Stephenson added an insurance run with a two-out infield single after Conway took third on a groundout.

Derkowski (17-12) allowed three hits and two walks in five innings. Hoehn entered after Derkowski issued a walk to Jordan Woolery leading off the sixth. Hoehn retired all six batters she faced.

The Bruins advanced to the final after a 4-2 victory over third-seeded Nebraska in the semifinals.

Michigan won its only softball title in 2005. They were runners-up in 2015. The Wolverines have appeared in 12 Women’s College World Series in 30 previous NCAA Tournament appearances.

UCLA (49-10) was playing in its third straight conference tournament final in its first season in the Big Ten with the previous two coming while the Bruins were members of the Pac-12.

UCLA has won 13 NCAA softball championships — most recently in 2019 — as well as being runners-up seven times. The Bruins have advanced to the WCWS in 33 of 40 tournament appearances.

There’s always a benefit to familiarity with a coach, even if that familiarity is based on shared geography.

Hailing from the same place as his new coach, Treyvon Lewis — one of the stars of Ferndale High School’s most recent surge to state prominence in basketball — has committed to play for the Western Michigan Broncos men’s basketball squad coached by Dwayne Stephens, one of the stars of Ferndale’s last run.

Western Michigan announced the transfer portal move earlier this week.

“We are excited to add Trey to our program,” Stephens said in a news release. “He is a true two-way player who can defend and make shots at a high level. He’s from the state of Michigan, and we are ready for the immediate impact he will have on our program in all areas, both on and off the court.”

A Mr. Basketball finalist his senior year at Ferndale, the 6-foot-6 Lewis spent the first three seasons of his college career outside his home state, redshirting at Loyola Chicago in 2022-23, then playing in 10 games in his redshirt freshman season, before transferring to Purdue Fort Wayne last season.

He played in all 32 games for the Mastodons last year, averaging 4.7 point and 1.2 rebounds per connect, scoring in double figures in league road wins over Green Bay and Milwaukee.

A four-year varsity player for Ferndale in high school, Lewis led the Eagles to four straight district championships, and two straight final four appearances in Division 2 his final two years as a prep player. He was rated by 247Sports as the top recruit in Michigan as a senior, and a three-star recruit overall.

He was first-team Division 2 All-State as e senior, when he averaged 23 points per game, and finished fifth in the Mr. Basketball voting, behind eventual winner Chansey Willis Jr., a junior on last year’s Broncos squad, which went 12-20, 9-9 in the Mid-American Conference, losing in the first round of the conference tourney.

The Broncos have also signed transfers Jalen Griffith (Navarro College) and Hudson Ward (Penn State), adding to a recruiting class that included Sharod Barnes (Orchard Lake St. Mary’s), Brady Swartz (Grand Rapids Northview), Camden Thompson (Whitehall) and Carson Vis (Grand Rapids South Christian).

A day after Michigan State announced its plan to move on from Alan Haller, the outgoing athletic director released a statement on his impending departure Friday.

In the statement, Haller alluded to a rift between himself and people in “positions of significant influence” that caused his firing.

“Throughout my career, I have consistently spoken up when I believed something was not right—always guided by a commitment to protect students and uphold the best interests of the University. At times, those decisions have not aligned with individuals in positions of significant influence,” Haller wrote.

Haller’s statement was released through Blanchard & Walker, PLLC, based in Ann Arbor.

Haller, 54, has been Michigan State’s athletic director since September 2021. On Thursday, Michigan State announced his last day will be May 11.

Haller says he is “proud” of his record as an athletic director. That includes bringing on a number of the school’s current coaches, including football coach Jonathan Smith, women’s basketball coach Robyn Fralick and hockey coach Adam Nightingale.

“Although I am deeply saddened to be leaving the University, I am proud of my record and the lasting impact of my work,” Haller’s statement continued. “As I continue to process this decision, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Spartan community for their unwavering support.”

Haller, a Lansing native and J.W. Sexton High School graduate, ran track at Michigan State and played football for coach George Perles from 1988 to 1991 before a brief NFL career spent mostly playing special teams. He returned to East Lansing after his football career, joining Michigan State’s Department of Police and Public Safety for 13 years.

In 2010, Haller stepped into an associate athletic director role with the athletic department. Before that, he had served on the committee that hired Mark Dantonio to coach football in 2006. In 2015, he earned a promotion to senior associate athletic director and became chief of staff in 2017. In 2021, Haller succeeded Bill Beekman as athletic director as his predecessor stepped into a role in the MSU president’s office.

“Serving as Vice President and Director of Athletics at Michigan State University has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Haller said. “For 32 years, I have been a Spartan — first as a student-athlete in track and football, then as a Police Officer, and later in various leadership roles within Spartan Athletics.

“To the student-athletes: THANK YOU for allowing me the privilege of serving as your athletic director. It has been an incredible journey — and yes, it has been FUN! Supporting your success has never been just a job; it was my responsibility and my joy to help create an environment where you could thrive and become the best version of yourselves.”

Haller navigated multiple scandals with Michigan State, including the fallout of the 2022 Michigan-Michigan State tunnel fight that saw seven Spartan football players face criminal charges. In his first year as athletic director, Haller signed former football coach Mel Tucker to a 10-year, $95 million extension that made him the highest paid Black coach in college football history. Michigan State did not have to pay the full contract after firing Tucker for cause amid a sexual misconduct scandal after rape survivor and activist Brenda Tracy accused him of sexual harassing her over the phone in April 2022.

Haller was also associate athletic director in 2014, when the first of more than 300 claims of sexual abuse against former gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar came to light. Michigan State paid a $500 million settlement, while Nasser was sentenced to life in prison.

Michigan State is currently under an NCAA investigation for recruiting violations during the Tucker era, The Detroit News reported April 2.

“I am deeply grateful to my colleagues who stood alongside me,” Haller continued. “Together, we navigated some of the most difficult challenges in our history and celebrated some of our most meaningful victories. Leading Spartan Athletics through both has been a highlight of my professional life. My parents taught me that our actions should always be motivated by love. Serving this University and this community has been, for me, an act of love. I remain a proud Spartan.”

Haller’s departure comes at a pivotal time in college athletics. A number of changes shaped Haller’s time at Michigan State, including the advent of the transfer portal, as well as name, image and likeness (NIL) rights for athletes.

With the ongoing House v. NCAA settlement putting into effect roster limits and the distribution of $20.5 million in revenue sharing, President Kevin Guskiewicz says the university is seeking a successor who “can best navigate the changing landscape of collegiate athletics while working closely with both internal and external stakeholders to move Michigan State forward as a leader among the Power Four institutions.”

The past three seasons have seen a downturn for Michigan State football with a combined 14-22 record, including a 5-7 (3-6 Big Ten) finish in Smith’s first season leading the Spartans. As the athletic department’s biggest sport, national competitiveness in that sport is a major priority.

One of the criticisms of Haller as an athletic director was Michigan State’s ineffectiveness in raising funds for NIL, an area that has affected recruiting in the school’s biggest sports of football and men’s basketball.

Tom Izzo, who will serve as co-interim athletic director alongside deputy athletic director Jennifer Smith, led the men’s basketball team to a 30-7 record, 17-3 conference record and a Big Ten championship before marching to the Elite Eight with a team driven by depth over star power.

Friday, Michigan State donor Jim Heos told WILX Channel 10 that while he liked Haller as an athletic director, he saw weakness in how Michigan State approached the modern college sports landscape under Haller’s guidance.

“I’m not surprised given the trajectory of the level of giving to the athletic department, Heos said. “All you gotta do is look at what’s going on with players that are coming via the transfer portal. It just seems like we can’t compete because we don’t have enough money.”

ANN ARBOR — Michigan’s Fred Richard and Paul Juda finished first and second in the all-around and Wolverines team total of 332.224 edged them past five-time defending champion Stanford (332.961) on Saturday to win their first NCAA men’s gymnastics title since 2014.

Juda, the individual champion on the parallel bars with a score of 14.200 and host Michigan’s last competitor of the day, scored a 13.966 on the vault to clinch the program’s seventh national title. The Wolverines finished second, 5.635 points behind Stanford, at the 2024 championships.

Oklahoma finished third with 327.891, ahead of Nebraska (326.222), Penn State (317.258) and Illinois was sixth with 316.293. Penn State and Oklahoma each hold a record 12 national titles.

Stanford’s Asher Hong took home the individual title in the floor exercise (14.600) and defended his crown with a score of 14.433 on the rings. Patrick Hoopes of Air Force scored a 14.833 to win the horse championship, Ohio State’s Kameron Nelson (14.633) won the vault title and Emre Dodanli claimed the high bar championship for Oklahoma with a score of (13.833).

Richard and Juda won bronze medals for Team USA at the Paris Olympics.