This simmering battle has reached a boiling point this summer with House settlement terms. The Other 28 are responsible for 35% of the $2.77 billion in back damages to be paid to former college athletes over a 10-year period. That figure, about $970 million, has incited harsh public criticism from their commissioners who say they were not involved in the settlement negotiations and believe that the amount puts them at a disadvantage. One school, Houston Christian University, even filed a legal challenge in court on Thursday over the back-pay distribution amounts.
The power conferences are paying about 23% while the NCAA national office foots 42% of the bill. The confounding part, many commissioners say, is that about 95% of the $2.77 billion in back-pay is intended to be distributed to power conference athletes.
