A memo prepared by UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham outlines “significant concerns” from non-revenue sports coaches about the effects of allowing athletes to profit for use of their names, images and likenesses (NIL).

The concerns include reduced resources for lower-profile programs, the risk of “crowdfunded recruiting,” increased influence by agents and whether schools can effectively monitor the new NIL guidelines.

More than a dozen national associations in various sports — such as hockey, soccer, tennis, golf, swimming and gymnastics — have signed onto the memo.

“Legislation like this, if it goes wrong, could be incredibly catastrophic to Olympic sports,” said Mike Moyer, executive director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association. “Our position is: let’s pump the brakes and just be really, really careful what is agreed to and what’s not agreed to.”

The memo — which was prepared by Cunningham and UNC associate athletics director Paul Pogge — focused on non-revenue sports and was sent to a law committee examining whether to craft a standardized athlete-compensation law for states to adopt.

In April, the NCAA announced that its Board of Governors supported a plan that gives athletes the ability to cash in on their names, images and likenesses and without involvement from the association, schools or conferences.

A formal vote will be taken by schools at the next convention in January and new rules will go into effect no later than the 2021-22 academic year. Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said there will be “guardrails” in place to ensure athletes are being compensated at an appropriate rate for their services and there will be consequences for athletes who do not meet disclosure requirements.

With the new NIL guidelines, there are concerns about whether corporate sponsors will choose to continue supporting schools as compared to pursing deals with select athletes in high-profile sports.

“It doesn’t take a Rhodes Scholar to say those businesses might be able to make a deal with one of those recognizable faces for a lot less money than they can make a deal with the athletics department,” said Kathy DeBoer, executive director of the American Volleyball Coaches Association that supports the memo.

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