NCAA agrees to pay volunteer coaches $303M under proposed settlement

The Indianapolis-based NCAA would pay $303 million to settle a class-action lawsuit affecting more than 7,700 men and women who worked as volunteer coaches in sports other than baseball, according to a motion for preliminary approval filed this week.

The coaches, by NCAA rule, were prohibited from receiving pay or benefits. The rule was rescinded in January 2023 and the lawsuit was filed two months later in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California to resolve wage-fixing claims.

“We are incredibly proud of this settlement which, if approved, will provide significant and meaningful compensation to thousands of hard-working coaches,” co-lead counsel Dennis Stewart, Michael Lieberman and Bob Gralewski said in a statement. “We look forward to the approval process and are committed to ensuring that these funds are distributed to coaches in a fair and efficient manner.”

The NCAA would make three separate payments of $101 million into a qualified settlement fund starting within 30 days of final approval. Approved claimants would be paid no less than $5,000, and many would receive much more.

The settlement applies to all volunteer coaches who worked for a Division I sports program other than baseball between March 1, 2019, and July 1, 2023. A similar settlement to a class-action lawsuit brought by volunteer baseball coaches was approved in September.

NCAA president Charlie Baker wrote in a memo to Division I members that the Board of Governors and finance committees would consider funding the settlement through a combination of revenue distribution reductions, net assets and national office contributions. Baker said revenue distributions to schools could be reduced as soon as May.

The NCAA provided Baker’s memo to the media, and a spokesperson said there would be no additional comment.

Judge William B. Shubb could approve the proposed settlement as soon as next month, according to court papers.