North Dakota State Opts In To House Settlement

FARGO, N.D. – The North Dakota State University athletic department has notified the NCAA that it will opt in to the House v. NCAA settlement for the 2025-26 season. The deadline to opt in was Monday, June 30.
 
Opting in to the settlement allows NDSU greater flexibility in providing benefits to student-athletes, including name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities, direct compensation, and scholarships for all rostered student-athletes.
 
By opting in for 2025-26, NDSU may designate student-athletes to keep on rosters in excess of the settlement’s roster limits until they complete their eligibility or transfer from the university. Schools that opt-in for 2026-27 or later years are subject to immediate roster limits.
 
“This is a decision that we entered into with much deliberation and debate over its impact on the future of Bison Athletics,” said Matt Larsen, NDSU director of athletics. “We truly believe that opting into the House settlement will allow us to continue to be leaders at the FCS and mid-major level in providing financial support and resources to our student-athletes. The ability to provide institutional NIL along with scholarships, cost of attendance and Alston awards will keep NDSU positioned at the top of the subdivision.”
 
NDSU Athletics already funds the maximum scholarship limits for all 16 of its NCAA Division I sports, including full cost of attendance for student-athletes on scholarship. NDSU also offers financial awards to all student-athletes who meet academic success benchmarks through its Graduating Champions program, recently made possible by NCAA v. Alston.
 
Under terms of the House v. NCAA settlement, additional scholarships and payments made available to student-athletes above the pre-settlement NCAA maximums will count toward each institution’s benefits cap, which is $20.5 million for the 2025-26 season. Any number of rostered athletes may be on scholarship, up to the roster limit.
 
Through NDSU’s recent contract renewal with Learfield, the multimedia and sponsorship rights holder of NDSU Athletics, the locally based Bison Sports Properties team will add a new NIL Business Manager position to maximize third-party name, image and likeness activity for student-athletes and streamline partnerships with local businesses and individuals.
 
With the ability for institutions to manage NIL activity directly with student-athletes, The Green and Gold Collective will be phased out through the month of July.  Fans and businesses who wish to support NDSU student-athletes through institutional NIL can now make tax-deductible contributions to NDSU Team Makers through the newly created Green and Gold Fund.
 
Moving forward, Team Maker membership levels will be determined based on general Team Maker gifts (seat contributions and philanthropic donations) and donations to the Green and Gold Fund.  More information is available on NDSUTeamMakers.com.