The settlement between the NCAA and plaintiffs in the White case was given final approval by the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Tuesday.The settlement creates greater flexibility for conferences and institutions to distribute $218 million in existing funds devoted to student-athlete benefits through 2012-13. These existing funds, from the Special Assistance and Academic Enhancement Funds, will be available to NCAA student-athletes under the guidelines of the Student Athlete Opportunity Fund. The settlement also establishes a $10 million Former Student-Athlete Fund to assist qualified candidates applying for receipt of career-development services and/or reimbursement of future educational expenses under the terms of the agreement with plaintiffs in the federal antitrust lawsuit.

“The NCAA is pleased the court has granted final approval to the settlement agreement in the White case,” said NCAA President Myles Brand. “The settlement allows us to resolve the litigation and enhance the benefits potentially available to former, current and future student-athletes.

“By adjusting the rules regarding access to the hundreds of millions of dollars in aid scheduled to be made available for student-athletes over the next several years, it is the NCAA’s intention to help meet any true additional needs of its student-athletes.”

A Web site has been established to administer claims.

The class consists of student-athletes who received an athletics grant-in-aid and were (1) a Football Bowl Subdivision (formally Division I-A) football player or (2) a men’s basketball player in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East Conference, Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Conference USA, Pacific-10 Conference, Southeastern Conference, Sun Belt Conference, Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, Western Athletic Conference, Atlantic 10 Conference, Horizon League, Colonial Athletic Association, Missouri Valley Conference or West Coast Conference at any time between February 17, 2002, and August 4, 2008.