Governor Gianforte Pushes Back On NCAA

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte wrote the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) today displaying his disdain for the settlement in the House V. NCAA case.

What is the House V. NCAA case?

Earlier this year, the NCAA and its Power 5 conferences (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, PAC-12 and SEC) settled on 2.8 billion dollars going to former college athletes who didn't receive the benefits of NIL, according to Forbes. The NCAA will be responsible for 1.1 billion dollars while the universities will be tagged for the remaining 1.65 billion dollars. Unfortunately, the smaller universities, like Montana, Montana State or Weber State, were tasked with aiding in the damages.

That's where Governor Gianforte stepped in.

We received a press release this morning (September 17) stating Governor Gianforte, and five Western states, are "sounding the alarm" about the settlement.

“Unfortunately, the proposed settlement is unfair for the colleges and universities in our states. Generally speaking, NIL sponsorships tend to be more popular among the bigger athletic conferences and not the smaller ones,” Governor Gianforte wrote in the release.

Alongside Montana's Gianforte, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon (representing the University of Wyoming), South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (on behalf of the University of South Dakota and South Dakota State), North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (representing North Dakota State University and the University of North Dakota) and Idaho Governor Brad Little (representing Boise State University, University of Idaho and Idaho State University) cosigned the letter.

Gianforte's request comes a few weeks after the settlement was put on hold, according to Dan Murphy with ESPN. The decision to put the case on hold was more to do with boosters paying athletes "for a valid business purpose," said Murphy.

Big Sky Conference Tom Wistrcill was vocal back this Spring echoing Gianforte's sentiments. Wistrcill went on a media tour roasting the NCAA's decision.

Governor Gianforte appears on Newstalk KGVO's Talk Back this week. We will update the story with Gianforte's comments on the show.