Jun. 30—The University of Maine will join a landmark NCAA settlement that will allow schools to pay student-athletes directly, including for their name, image and likeness.
In a brief two-paragraph statement, UMaine announced that it would join dozens of other participating schools in a settlement reached between the NCAA and members of what were formerly known as the Power Five Conferences. The deal essentially ends the last vestiges of amateurism in Division I college sports and ushers in a new era of athletes sharing in athletic department revenue.
UMaine originally planned to opt out of the settlement, approved by a federal judge on June 6, citing concerns with roster limits. The school changed course after a clause was added to allow current student-athletes, and those who had been promised a roster spot, to not lose their roster spot even if the team exceeded the new roster limits.
“While our initial intention was to opt out, after closer review of the final settlement and the clarifying guidance — in particular regarding roster limits — we have officially notified the NCAA that we will opt in for the 2025-26 academic year,” UMaine said in an emailed statement. “This decision aligns with our ongoing commitment to supporting and enhancing the student-athlete experience and promoting a level playing field.
“We will continue to take a thoughtful, strategic approach as the collegiate athletics landscape evolves. We will reassess this decision annually to ensure it remains aligned with the best interests of our student-athletes, the university and the state,” the statement continued.
UMaine student-athletes previously could sign name, image, likeness deals with businesses, or sign with an NIL agency. This settlement also allows for a revenue-sharing system in which schools can share up to $20.5 million annually with student-athletes.
UMaine offered no further information about whether it intends to directly pay any of its student-athletes, whether it will strike NIL deals with its athletes, or any substantive way opting into the agreement will alter its athletic operations.
UMaine Athletic Director Jude Killy is “out of the country,” according to his office, and was unavailable for comment Monday. A university spokesperson said its statement would be the only information provided “at this time.”
Sarah Talon of Windham, a senior guard on UMaine’s women’s basketball team, said she was happy to hear about the school opting in, though she was unsure how much the decision could affect the Black Bears or their athletes.
“I think it’s great, with sports and college athletes evolving in the United States every day, I think it’s cool to see another step be taken,” she said. “I don’t know much about it, I’m not really educated that much about it. But from what I hear, it’s a pretty cool thing.”
Talon said that players and coaches talked in the spring “about what that might look like for us this year,” but that players haven’t discussed the changing landscape much amongst themselves.
“(We) mainly just talk about basketball and our season,” she said. “If there are other external factors that are going to help impact them in a way, that’s cool. And if not, (that’s) cool too.”
Greg Glynn, the founder and CEO of Augusta-based NIL agency Pliable Marketing, said UMaine made a bold and positive statement by joining the deal.
“If you’re a UMaine fan for any sport, this is exciting. It shows that UMaine is invested in their athletic program,” Glynn said. “They are putting a stake in the ground and saying we are a serious athletic program, we’re going to compete with the best and we are going to find a way to have NIL money.”
Schools with Division I athletics that were not part of the settlement had a June 30 deadline to declare to the NCAA whether they would make a one-year commitment to participate in 2025-26. UMaine’s biggest rival, the University of New Hampshire, will make its announcement on Tuesday, said Mike Murphy, the school’s associate athletic director for marketing and communications. The University of Vermont, which does not have a football team, has indicated it might wait until 2026-27 to opt in, according to some reports, but has not made an official announcement.
Among other Hockey East schools, Merrimack College, Boston College, UMass, and Northeastern reportedly were early opt-ins before the settlement was officially approved. In June, UConn athletic director David Benedict announced the Huskies were opting in and planned “to share $18 million,” in 2025-26 in additional athlete benefits with “the near-term goal of being fully funded.”
Across the country, several mid-major programs with Football Championship Subdivision programs like UMaine, have opted in, notably North Dakota State, North Dakota, South Dakota, Murray State and Tennessee Tech. Football now has a cap of 105 players. Previously, FCS schools had a limit of the equivalent of 63 full scholarships.
Key components of participation in the settlement include:
— Permission to share a portion of revenue directly with student-athletes, up to $20.5 million per school in 2025-26.
— Replacing scholarship limits with roster limits. In some cases, roster sizes will increase. In others, roster sizes will be reduced.
— If a school has the funding and desire, it could give as many full scholarships as it wants up to the maximum annual benefit.
— Existing student-athletes, as well as recruited student-athletes, who have been promised a roster spot for 2025-26 can be “grandfathered” as exempt from roster limits for the duration of their college eligibility.
In addition, the settlement includes a $2.8 billion award in back pay to compensate former and current Division I student-athletes who competed from 2016 and June 6, 2025 to compensate for lost NIL opportunities, denied revenue from broadcasts, and potential video game earnings. The vast majority of the back pay, up to 95%, will go to football and men’s basketball players.
Baseball is one sport that will see a reduction in total roster size (from 40 to 34) under the new program, but schools can now offer significantly more than the 11.7 equivalent max scholarships.
Ryan Copp is the program director for the Maine Lightning club baseball program. The club has sent numerous players to Division I programs, including powerhouses like Vanderbilt in the SEC and Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference, as well as several players who have gone to the University of Maine.
“I don’t know what that’s going to do for UMaine’s scholarships,” Copp said. “From what I’ve been hearing, some of the big schools are going up to the 22-24 range. So I would expect Maine to get an increase in scholarship money. I’ve heard Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida — the SEC schools — they’re going full scholarship for all 34.”
Additional expenditures require additional revenue, or funding sources. While UMaine has opted into the program, it is not required to spend additional funds.
The university is currently in the midst of a multi-year athletic facilities improvement project backed by $170 million from the Harold Alfond Foundation.
Name, image, likeness (NIL) allows student-athletes to legally profit for commercial use of their identity. UMaine student-athletes would have continued to have that right whether the university had entered into the agreement or not.
What changes is now UMaine can pay an athlete for their NIL. Or, they can just pay them for coming to and staying in Orono.
Athletes are now allowed to have legal and parent representation when negotiating an NIL or additional benefits deal, both before committing to a school and once they are enrolled.
In one example cited by the NCAA in a 36-page FAQ, the athlete signs a two-year deal and receives $50,000 upon enrollment, $100,000 on Jan. 1 of Year 1; and another $100,000 on Jan. 1 of Year 2. The first $150,00 would count toward the school’s Year 1 cap with the second $100,000 payment counting toward the next year’s cap. Another example notes athletes could receive bonuses based on grade point average.
“UMaine is proud to be the state’s only NCAA Division I institution and remains committed to supporting opportunities for our student-athletes and Black Bear fans,” UMaine’s statement added. “As an athletic department, we remain committed to being among the top five Division I programs in greater New England.”
Staff writer Drew Bonifant contributed to this story.
Copy the Story Link
