Days after House vs. NCAA settlement, Bryan Seeley makes feelings known on leading College Sports Commission: "Culture doesn’t change overnight

The historic House vs. NCAA settlement was approved by California judge Claudia Wilken on Friday, heralding the start of a new era in college sports. The settlement mandates programs to treat student-athletes like employees and share up to $20.5 million in revenue annually.

The NCAA has seen its powers of enforcement diminish in recent years, following the dawn of the NIL era, and the House vs. NCAA settlement has necessitated the formation of the College Sports Commission.

Former MLB executive vice president, legal & operations, Bryan Seeley, was appointed the CSC's CEO on Friday. During an interview with "The Athletic," the first since his appointment, he broke down why college sports needed the formation of the new enforcement authority.

“I think this is a good, new starting point. So whatever existed beforehand does not need to be what exists going forward,” Seeley said. “Culture doesn’t change overnight. I don’t expect that to happen overnight, but I do think that the schools that have signed on to the settlement want rules and want rules to be enforced.

"Otherwise, they wouldn’t have signed on to the settlement. I think student-athletes want a different system. So I think there is a desire for rules enforcement. There’s a desire for transparency.”

House vs. NCAA settlement ushers in new enforcement era

The House vs. NCAA settlement on Friday has had immediate repercussions in the administration of college sports. The NCAA will still oversee aspects including academics, but the benefits and roster limits portion of college sports will now fall under the purview of Bryan Seeley's College Sports Commission.

Seeley received the backing of the four influential power four conference commissioners, including the SEC's Greg Sankey, Big 12's Brett Yormark, Big Ten's Tony Petitti and the ACC's Jim Phillips, in a statement released on Friday.

"Bryan brings unwavering integrity and a wealth of relevant experience to his new role leading the College Sports Commission and working to ensure a smooth implementation of this new system," the statement read.

"We're grateful to have an individual with his credentials and expertise at the helm, and we look forward to his leadership as we transition into this new era of college sports."

Since the historic Supreme Court decision in 2021 that welcomed the NIL era, several influential figures in college sports have called for the regulation of the practice and the House vs. NCAA settlement finally stimulated the formation of the regulatory College Sports Commission.