The Vanderbilt Commodores and Tennessee Volunteers football programs are in danger of “It Just Means More” becoming a relic of their past.
As the Knoxville News Sentinel’s Adam Sparks revealed, there is a document circulating demanding that member schools of all Power 4 conferences waive their right to sue the NCAA if there are any disagreements with implemented NIL rules.
If Vandy and UT don’t acquiesce, Sparks reports that the SEC can remove them.
“A new Tennessee law triggered the power conferences of college sports into demanding member schools like the University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt to sign a loyalty pledge over new player pay rules or face possible expulsion,” Sparks wrote.
“Knox News confirmed the existence of the loyalty document through a source with direct knowledge of the situation. The source requested anonymity because those correspondence are between the conferences and member schools.
“The document is being circulated by the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and the SEC. It demands that member schools agree to follow new rules involving paying players despite state laws giving the freedom to circumvent the rules. And the pledge also requires schools to waive their right to sue the NCAA or conferences if they disagree with the implementation of those rules.”
Despite being a private university, Vanderbilt is being forced to abide by the state’s NIL laws.
“A clause in the law permits Vanderbilt and private universities to opt out of the protections of the state law in order to cooperate with the NCAA,” Sparks wrote.