NCAA/NIT Settlement - Conclusion By Zach

Well, I was wrong. Not only were terms of the settlement between the NCAA and NIT disclosed, they were disclosed almost immediately after the deal was reached. For a full summary, check Andy Katz's article on ESPN.com. Basically, the NCAA is paying about $40 million to purchase the pre and post-season NITs, and another $17 million or so to end the lawsuit. Ray Ratto, an ESPN.com columnist, has his take on what the settlement means, and while I'm not sure I'm as outraged over the death of the NIT as a seperate entity, I agree that it's never good to allow the NCAA even more power. After all, they already control their sports with an iron grip professional leagues can only dream of.

All I can say is that from what I know from the NIT side, this settlement was on the lower end of what they had hoped for. When I spoke with NYU President John Sexton in the spring, he told me that he was looking to get about a $50 million settlement, and retain control over the NIT. In the end, I would assume two things became clear. One, the NCAA has enough money to tie this issue up in court for years, and two, the five schools that controled the NIT wanted money now, not possible money years down the road. I wish I could say that the $11 million or so that NYU is going to get out of this settlement would lower my tuition, but somehow I doubt it.