The Division I Amateurism Cabinet has agreed to begin drafting legislative proposals for the 2010-11 legislative cycle that delineate what institutions can and can’t do with student-athlete names and likenesses in commercial activity.

Meeting recently in Indianapolis, the cabinet began developing legislative concepts from recommendations in the final report of the Task Force on Commercial Activity in Intercollegiate Athletics.

Proposals will address promotional materials that acknowledge corporate support but feature student-athlete names and likeness. The legislative concepts are included:

• Student-athlete names and likenesses should not be used in a way that would portray the student-athlete as promoting or endorsing the sale or use of a commercial product or service or in a manner that a reasonable person would consider exploitive.
• Use of student-athlete names and likenesses is permissible with student-athlete consent and approval by an institution’s athletics director if there is a clear association between the commercial entity and the NCAA, conference or institution.
• The use of names and likenesses is permissible as part of competition coverage or as a representation of actual competition.

The cabinet also advocated that a special committee be formed to monitor trends associated with use of student-athlete names and likeness.

Key among the issues the cabinet members wanted the legislation to address was one from the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which suggested that institutions get consent from involved student-athletes for each separate promotional activity in which their name or likeness will be used.

Currently, NCAA bylaws require student-athlete consent in connection with the use of their likeness in a promotional context. However, institutional practices vary in how those consents are obtained. 

Cabinet members agreed with Division I SAAC chair Matt Baysinger that the best practice would be for a standardized approach requiring specific consent before each activity.

The cabinet also is expected to craft a legislative proposal that requires a direct connection between the student-athlete’s institution and the promotional activity. 

For example, if the media entity authorized to broadcast an institution’s football game  wanted to use  the quarterback’s name to promote an upcoming football game, the promotion would say something like, “Watch State University quarterback Joe Smith this Saturday at 7 p.m. on the XYZ network.”

The cabinet wanted to emphasize the student-athlete’s connection with the university.