Mr. Morris had suggested that I split sports-related topics and acting so there would be no confusion with the NCAA. They’d gotten worried when I helped Washington with their fundraiser at the same event where we’d also played a baseball game. I didn’t think anyone expected over twenty thousand people to show up. We’d had similar crowds the following weekend at State.
Universities aren’t stupid. Having a student who could draw that many fans and potentially be the face of their program was huge. Even for a school like Michigan, which consistently sold out, it would be a major plus for away games. Places like Northwestern couldn’t sell out when they had a draw like a ranked Stanford team. If my fame could put butts in seats, it would mean big money to the conference as a whole. What had them excited was I was pulling these numbers for high school baseball, which was notorious for drawing mediocre crowds at best.
It would be interesting to see what the NCAA wanted to talk about.
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President Ellison met us at reception. This almost felt like a recruiting trip. The building was new, and it was easy to see they weren’t hurting for money.
“I thought I’d show you around,” President Ellison said to begin the tour. “While I’m doing that, I’ll give you some background on the NCAA.
“The National Collegiate Athletic Association is an organization that’s led by its members. We’re dedicated to the well-being of college athletes and to their lifelong success.
“The NCAA consists of 1,121 colleges and universities, 99 conferences, and 39 affiliated organizations. More than 460,000 student-athletes make up 19,000 teams that take part in the NCAA’s 90 championships. Those are in 24 sports across 3 divisions. We have a staff of 500 employees here in Indianapolis that supports our members,” President Ellison said.
He then gave us a tour of the facility, and I met many of the employees. Several wanted pictures taken. Caryn promised to send over signed photos for anyone who wanted one.
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We were finally ushered into a large conference room with coffee service set up in the back. President Ellison indicated we were to sit on the far side of the long table. There were name tents for the people on their side. We were given a Sharpie and asked to fill out ours so everyone would know each other.
I read the name tents as I scanned down the other side of the table: Mark Ellison, NCAA president; JT Picket, chair of the Board of Governors; Jim Phelps, member of the Board of Governors and athletic director for the University of Michigan; Jackie Davis, chair of the Initial-Eligibility Waiver Committee; Steve Anchorage, chair of the Amateurism Fact-Finding Committee; Lesley Sanchez, chair of the Legislative Relief Committee; and Andy Hill, chair of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. President Ellison kicked off the meeting.
“David Dawson asked for this meeting to expedite his eligibility. It is my understanding that Mrs. Davis found enough questions to forward his application to Mr. Anchorage’s committee to do some due diligence. Let’s have Mr. Anchorage give us an overview as to where we stand on his amateurism status.”
“Some of you may remember Mr. Morris,” Mr. Anchorage began. “He worked for us a few years back, reviewing applications for initial eligibility. Mr. Morris has been helpful in providing the documentation we needed to conduct our review. I have some grave concerns that Mr. Dawson may cause us problems related to naming rights once he enters college. I believe we need to get an agreement in place to protect our member institutions before we can issue him his letter of amateurism status,” Mr. Anchorage stated.
“Are you worried that David will challenge your control over student-athletes’ use of image and name?” Mr. Morris asked.
It seemed that was exactly what they were worried about. This was the heart of what student-athletes had filed lawsuits about in the past. There was a lot of money being made by the NCAA’s member institutions. If the student-athletes ever cracked the door open on receiving compensation, it would be a slippery slope until they were paid what they were worth. Let’s face it, college football and basketball were both big businesses.
I had a problem with how the big shoe companies made deals with each school. You had to wear their gear with logos. Why shouldn’t a student-athlete be compensated for being a walking billboard?
“Why don’t we work out a deal where David agrees to allow you to use his image and name for college football and baseball? In exchange, you give him a waiver to do his movies and modeling,” Mr. Morris floated.
“I have concerns about what his modeling activities might entail. It’s my understanding that he’s right now the face for Range Sports, an athletic equipment company. I would be apprehensive about him doing ads and or commercials involving any type of football- or baseball-related gear. It would more than likely violate agreements with our existing sponsors,” Jim Phelps, the AD for the University of Michigan, said.
“An exception could be added to the waiver to exclude any conflicts. They would need to be spelled out for us to be comfortable,” Mr. Morris added.
“I would like David to consider using his celebrity to help with public service announcements. It would be good if he would also become involved in our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. I think he would bring a unique perspective to our institution,” Andy Hill, the chair of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, said.
“Any public service announcements would have to be approved by David and his team. David would also have to see how his class loads are before he could commit to joining a committee,” Mr. Morris said to advocate for me.
“I would also like for David to agree to assist us with legislative matters,” Lesley Sanchez, the chair of the Legislative Relief Committee, said.
“That’s a loaded request. Do you want David to be your poster boy supporting NCAA attempts to do something in Congress to get more exemptions?” Mr. Morris asked.
Lesley smiled and nodded.
“I guess that is the thrust of our proposal,” she admitted.
“I think we need to take a break and discuss what you’ve suggested. Can we get back together in an hour?” Mr. Morris asked.
“I think that would be a good idea. If you’d like, I can take you to the executive dining room, and you can have lunch,” President Ellison suggested.
I could eat. We were given ninety minutes to return.
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We ordered lunch, and I voiced my biggest concern.
“I’m not sure I want to carry water for them to get more concessions out of Congress. Frankly, I believe student-athletes deserve to be compensated.”
“What about PSAs and volunteering to be on a committee?” Ms. Dixon asked.
“That fits as part of my charitable work. I would be willing to do some PSAs as long as they made sense. I’m not sure what committees they’re talking about and what value I would bring,” I said.
“Do you have a problem with them using your name and image?” Mr. Morris asked.
“If that’s the price I have to pay to play ball, I’m fine with it. I’ll admit, I think we could fight to get them to back off on modeling and acting, including Range Sports,” I said.
“We could, but I recommend that you not fight that if you don’t have to. What you must realize is the NCAA is a huge bureaucracy, and if they decide to come after you, they will. They think nothing of spending money on lawsuits, and I imagine they might drag their feet until you ran out of eligibility,” Mr. Morris said.
“So, don’t rock the boat. Okay. I’m sure Range Sports will survive without me, once I start college,” I said.