75% of US Olympians played in college. Future of Games hinges on fallout from NCAA athlete payouts

By Doug Feinberg and Eddie Pells, Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — Three-quarters of nan astir 600 American athletes lining up for action astatine nan Paris Olympics honed their skills playing assemblage sports successful nan United States.

It’s an eye-opening fig that places nan early of nan Olympics themselves into nan equation arsenic nan NCAA and its biggest schools group priorities erstwhile they commencement paying assemblage athletes who for decades played only for scholarships.

“I deliberation everybody’s going to person to make choices,” NCAA President Charlie Baker told The Associated Press successful an question and reply a fewer hours earlier nan opening ceremony. He planned to spell to section hockey, volleyball, swimming and gymnastics while successful Paris.

Baker’s specified beingness successful Paris connected nan aforesaid time litigators revenge specifications of a multibillion-dollar colony that will change nan people of nan NCAA speaks volumes astir nan important but seldom-discussed nexus betwixt nan biggest moneymakers successful assemblage — shot and hoops — and nan sports they underwrite. Many of those sports are being played complete 17 days astatine nan Summer Olympics.

According to nan U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, 21 U.S. teams competing successful Paris person astatine slightest 80% assemblage information connected their rosters. The 5-on-5 and 3×3 women’s hoops squads are 2 of 15 teams that are wholly formed pinch NCAA talent. Some of America’s best-known Olympians — Sha’Carri Richardson, Steph Curry and Suni Lee, to sanction a fewer — competed successful college.

The tendrils spell beyond nan U.S. team. More than 800 athletes pinch NCAA ties will compete for different countries successful Paris. In all, much than 1 successful 10 of nan 10,500 athletes astatine these Games played assemblage sports successful nan U.S.

If nan U.S. approaches numbers from nan past Summer Games, much than 80% of nan medals it captures will beryllium won by athletes pinch assemblage experience.

None of this comes cheap. One estimate is that NCAA schools walk much than $5 cardinal a twelvemonth connected alleged nonrevenue, aliases Olympic, sports.

Most of their bills are paid retired of what shot and hoops produce. But, apt starting successful 2025, nan long-awaited travel of rate from schools successful nan NCAA’s 5 biggest conferences to nan players will statesman successful earnest arsenic portion of a revenue-sharing statement that came retired of a trio of antitrust lawsuits against nan NCAA.

According to nan projected arrangement, nan schools could yet scope adjacent to a 50-50 divided of their TV, summons and sponsorship gross pinch players. New TV deals, namely a $7.8 cardinal statement pinch ESPN to televise nan shot playoff, will surely adhd money to nan equation.

But nan still-evolving enigma of what’s near erstwhile nan revenue-sharing deals are figured retired will dictate really galore Olympic, aliases nonrevenue, sports mightiness beryllium taxable to nan chopping block.

“It is extraordinarily apical of mind to us,” said Sarah Hirshland, nan CEO of nan USOPC, which has had moving groups moving for years trying to find nan contours of immoderate comes retired of nan caller arrangements. “We’re going to support a adjacent oculus connected programs being cut, aliases moreover talked astir being cut.”

Four years ago, pinch nan COVID-19 pandemic altering nan financial image successful assemblage sports, Stanford startled nan Olympic world by announcing it would shutter 9 Olympic sports programs astatine an diversion section that would person vanished 11th successful nan medals standings each by itself astatine nan 2016 Olympics.

A revolt ensued and nan schoolhouse ended up scuttling those plans. The specified thought of it delivered a chilling wake-up telephone — and a reminder of really integral assemblage programs are to nan Olympic ecosphere, particularly successful America, wherever authorities money does not underwrite training.

The changes coming retired of nan lawsuits do not see a abstracted ineligible action that seeks to person players deemed arsenic existent labor of universities, nan costs of which could scope into nan billions and wreak much havoc successful nan Olympic space.

Also, Baker himself has floated nan thought of having schools successful bigger conferences put $30,000 successful each eligible athlete’s “educational spot fund” arsenic different measurement of directing much money toward players.

With these proposals swirling earlier this year, Alabama diversion head Greg Byrne said he expected players’ salaries to travel pinch an eight-figure value tag “and those are resources and revenues that don’t exist.”

“And so, nan effect that could person connected nan Olympic sports, connected nan number of sports you are capable to offer, nan level of it — I’ve heard colleagues say, ‘Well, we’re conscionable going to standard backmost what we offer,’” he said.

Hirshland and those astatine nan USOPC agency are holding retired dream it won’t travel to that.

“We’re going to do everything we tin to lend to redeeming that strategy because it useful beautifully for america and, frankly, it’s nan envy of nan world,” she said.

Speaking to nan AP, Baker sounded an optimistic statement erstwhile he mentioned location are galore schools “that build a ton of brand” astir Olympic sports because they mean a batch to alumni and nan assemblage community. He besides said immoderate schools that haven’t been players successful nan Olympic-sport strategy mightiness “decide this is wherever their opportunity is going to beryllium going forward.”

But he’s not making immoderate guarantees, and says location was nary measurement to debar nan bigger issue, which is paying nan shot and hoops players whose efforts salary for nan remainder of nan sports.

“There are a batch of open-ended questions going guardant connected this one,” Baker said.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Davidson’s Stephen Curry (30) runs past Loyola players Marquis Sullivan (5) and Brian Rudolph during nan 2nd half of an NCAA assemblage hoops crippled successful Davidson, N.C., Nov. 25, 2008. | Chuck Burton, file