Pac 12 Proposes New Rule to Allow Student-Athletes to Profit of Names, Likenesses

With the Power 5 Conferences and the NCAA on the whole headed toward certain change, the Pac-12 wants to go further.

According to The Associated Press, the Pacific 12 Conference formally announced a proposal to allow student-athletes to profit off their names and likenesses for business ventures outside their respective collegiate athletic careers.

With greater autonomy and the ability govern themselves, the Power 5 Conferences, made up of athletic department officials and other representatives from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC, could eventually vote on this proposal in January.

"At the root of what we've done with our peer conferences over the last 18 months is to reaffirm our commitment to student-athletes and to bring college athletics into the 21st century," Larry Scott, the Pac-12's commissioner, said in a news release. "But there is more work to be done. We believe that further exploring these concepts will help ensure that student-athletes have the time to participate in the full spectrum of campus life and focus on their academics."

The NCAA also lost an antitrust lawsuit initially filed by Ed O'Bannon, but which was eventually turned into a class-action case. The judge in that case ruled against the NCAA and decided to allow schools to create trusts for student-athletes up to $5,000 that can be collected when they turn pro.

Several Power 5 Conference officials have outspokenly supported offering student-athletes the full cost of attendance, rather than just tuition and boarding.

"Pac-12 universities and the Pac-12 Council are committed to making sure student-athletes have the time, support, and independence necessary to participate in extracurricular activities and devote more energy to their academic pursuits," Karen Paisley, President of the Pac-12 Council and a University of Utah faculty athletics representative, said in the release. "We're looking forward to further vetting these concepts and working with our peers around the nation to ensure that student-athletes have the best experience possible."