HELENA, MT – Governor Greg Gianforte on Sep 17th, led a group of five western states in writing a letter to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sounding the alarm about an unfair settlement reached that will have a devastating impact on athletic programs in smaller states.

Recently, the NCAA reached a $2.8 billion settlement with Division I student-athletes in the Power Five conferences over backpay owed to them after the organization updated its policies regarding Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) sponsorships.

The proposed settlement would result in a nearly $1 billion financial hit for colleges and universities outside of the Power Five Conference, including hundreds of thousands of dollars for those in the Big Sky Conference.

“Unfortunately, the proposed settlement is unfair for the colleges and universities in our states. Generally speaking, NIL sponsorships tend to be more popular among the bigger athletic conferences and not the smaller ones,” the governors wrote. “Additionally, as Big Sky Conference Commissioner Tom Wistrcill recently noted, only Power Five conferences were parties to the lawsuit and participated in settlement negotiations. Despite these facts, the proposed settlement puts programs in every state, including small and medium-sized programs in our states, on the hook for payment.”

Governor Gianforte was joined by Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and Idaho Governor Brad Little in signing the letter.

Writing about the impact on colleges and universities in their region, the governors wrote, “Each of our states has between one and three Division I medium-sized colleges. According to the athletic directors at our colleges and universities, the settlement means our programs stand to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. This may not seem like much to larger athletic programs, but to the student-athletes in our states, it is a significant hit to their programs.”

The letter from the governors may be viewed here.