June’s meeting of the Texas A&M faculty senate included a presentation from the faculty representative to the A&M athletic department.
Most of the time spent by associate professor of sport management and attorney Paul Batista was about paying student athletes.
As for the existing rules regarding N-I-L…name, image, and likeness…Dr. Batista said an unnamed A&M baseball player is receiving $500,000 dollars and multiple athletes are receiving at least $250,000 dollars.
Batista also said 96 percent of N-I-L money at A&M is going to male athletes.
Batista said N-I-L had been his major focus. But it has been replaced by the impact of the recent announcement of a proposed settlement in a class action lawsuit that will result in billions of dollars going to collegiate student athletes.
He expected A&M will be spending another $20 to $22 million dollars as the result of the House vs. NCAA lawsuit. And that will result in more layoffs in the A&M athletic department, following the elimination of 18 positions six weeks ago.
As for A&M eliminating teams, Bautista said “certainly everybody in the athletic department says we do not want to do that. That would be an absolute last resort (at A&M).” But “it’s going to happen on a lot of college campuses.”
Batista also shared academic achievements by Texas A&M student athletes that includes the grade point average for the spring 2024 semester was the highest ever for members of A&M’s football team and for student athletes as a group.
Click below to hear the presentation and the question and answer period during the June 10, 2024 Texas A&M faculty senate meeting.