California judge approves NCAA-House case settlement WSOC TV [Video]

A California district judge granted preliminary approval to the NCAA and power conferences’ settlement of the House antitrust case, another step in a long process toward the era of athlete revenue sharing.

Judge Claudia Wilken, of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California, issued her ruling Monday without a follow-up hearing and after plaintiffs and defendants in the case clarified language in the agreement 10 days ago.

The two-part settlement requires schools pay roughly $2.8 billion to former athletes for damages of lost name, image and likeness payments, but, perhaps more importantly, permits schools – not requires them – to share millions with their athletes. The settlement’s new revenue-sharing model is expected to start July 1.

Wilken’s ruling in this landmark case is the latest move toward a settlement that, while not resolving all of college athletics’ ills, pushes the industry toward a more modernized structure and …