Day after House vs. NCAA settlement, TCU HC Mike Buddie sends clear message

The historic $2.8 billion worth House vs. NCAA settlement has dominated the college sports news cycle for months as a new era where student-athletes will get paid as employees by programs draws closer. On Friday, California judge Claudia Wilken signed the settlement.

The settlement mandates programs to pay student-athletes up to $20.5 million annually. After the deal's approval on Friday, TCU's director of intercollegiate athletics Mike Buddie released a statement charting the way forward for the Horned Frogs.

"The approval of the house settlement represents a landmark moment in collegiate athletics. TCU is committed to maintaining its position in the upper echelon of athletics.

"As previously communicated, TCU will engage in revenue sharing at the most competitive level and in doing so, create new opportunities for our student-athletes, strengthen our pursuit of championships and advance the mission of our university," the statement read.

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The House vs. NCAA deal ushers in uncertainty in college sports

The era-defining House vs. NCAA deal approved on Friday received mixed reactions from fans, players and analysts.

Former TCU Horned Frogs star Sedona Prince, a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits that constituted the settlement, celebrated the deal's potential during an interview with ESPN.

"It's historic," Sedona Prince said. "It seemed like this crazy, outlandish idea at the time of what college athletics could and should be like. It was a difficult process at times. ... but it's going to change millions of lives for the better."

Power conferences have moved quickly to regulate the scope of the House vs. NCAA deal by forming the College Sports Commission as an enforcement authority. Former MLB executive Bryan Seeley will be the CSC's first CEO.

With the NCAA's enforcement powers waning in the face of the NIL era and the settlement, president Charlie Baker addressed the issue in an open letter released on Friday evening.

"This is new terrain for everyone," Baker wrote. "Given the defendant conferences' new ownership of complicated pieces of rulemaking and enforcement, there will be a transition period and certainly bumps in the road. Opportunities to drive transformative change don't come often to organizations like ours. It's important we make the most of this one."

The House vs. NCAA settlement, like the NIL era that was greenlit by the Supreme Court decision in 2021, has continued to generate divergent views from fans, analysts and student-athletes. After being approved by Judge Claudia Wilken, the deal to pay student-athletes will begin on July 1.