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Last Friday, the NCAA committee on infractions announced a settlement with the University of Miami regarding recruiting violations by women’s basketball coach Katie Meier. Although the violations—impermissible contact with recruits and a free meal—are unremarkable, the committee elevated their importance by warning they could trigger dissociation of an NIL-tied booster.

The NCAA might be signaling a willingness to litigate potential challenges brought by disassociated boosters, recruits and athletes who are denied NIL opportunities.

The committee omits the recruits’ and booster’s names. However, reporting by Sports Illustrated and other media confirm the involvement of the Cavinder twins, Haley and Hanna (who have 4.3 million followers on TikTok and are on pace to earn more than $1 million in NIL), and billionaire Miami alumnus John Ruiz, whose company, LifeWallet, has signed Miami athletes to NIL deals.

The committee explains that Meier met with “a prominent Miami-area businessman” in April 2022, and while she wasn’t aware he was a booster, she knew he was an “NIL guy.” Meier later asked an assistant coach to “contact the prospects,” who played at Fresno State at the time. The assistant was further instructed to “explain that the booster was a legitimate businessperson.” That led to Ruiz hosting the Cavinders for a “chef-prepared dinner.”

Although the twins claimed the dinner didn’t impact their decision, they transferred to Miami for 2022-23.

Meier admits she should have checked with the Hurricanes’ compliance staff before facilitating this style of recruitment. Her penalty is a three-game game suspension, though she already sat out three games as part of a school suspension. Miami faces one year of probation, reduction in official visits, restrictions on recruiting, probation on communications and a fine of $5,000 plus 1% of the women’s basketball budget.

An infraction of this nature wouldn’t typically draw much attention. However, the committee seemed to pursue the spotlight when adding it could have, and might in a similar scenario going forward, disassociate a booster.

“Although the parties asserted that a disassociation penalty would be inappropriate based on an impermissible meal and an impermissible contact, today’s new NIL-related environment represents a new day,” the committee stressed, adding it “will strongly consider disassociation penalties in future cases involving NIL-adjacent conduct.”

Ruiz, who hasn’t taken down a tweeted photo of the twins and him from their recruiting trip to Miami, told the media he’s not changing his business practices. He also bluntly warned “had [the NCAA’s penalty] personally impacted on me or my company, I would have sued the NCAA, and they would have had a big battle. They are interrupting the rules in the wrong way. There was nothing improper.”

The prospect of Ruiz or another NIL-tied booster suing the NCAA over disassociation is not far-fetched.

Unlike an NCAA member school, which contractually agrees to follow NCAA rules and its administration of rules, a booster isn’t in contract with the NCAA. A booster thus hasn’t contractually relinquished any potential claims.

To that end, an expelled booster could sue the NCAA under antitrust law, violation of a state NIL statute, tortious interference and suppressing First Amendment rights.

The NCAA has struggled of late in antitrust cases. In NCAA v. Alston, the Supreme Court made clear that ordinary scrutiny applies to antitrust challenges of NCAA action; the days of the NCAA receiving preferential treatment under antitrust law are over. So whenever the NCAA and its members restrict competition, they could be challenged for harming competition more than helping it.

A booster could maintain the NCAA and its members damaged the markets for athlete recruitment and NIL by disassociating a person whose conduct and engagement increases how schools compete for recruits. In response, the NCAA would insist that boosters who dangle NIL are violating recruitment rules intended to create a level playing field for school competition. Economic analysis would likely play a key role in determining which side offers the better set of facts for assessing market impact.

A booster could also invoke a state NIL statute to claim unlawful interference. NIL statutes generally prohibit colleges from enforcing policies that curtail NIL compensation opportunities. If boosters are excluded from the NIL market, the exclusion could deprive them, as well as recruits, of NIL opportunities. The NCAA would insist that enforcement of amateurism rules is not tantamount to interference.

Tortious interference with contractual or business relationships is another possible claim. A disassociated booster could maintain the NCAA unlawfully impeded a potential NIL deal by depriving the booster of a chance to conduct business with a recruit. That banishment, in turn, might have inflicted economic harm on both the booster and recruit. The NCAA would likely respond by pointing out that boosters have long been regulated in their conduct and are expected to follow NCAA rules.

There is also a potential free speech and free association claim under the First Amendment. A booster could say that preventing discussions with recruits interferes with their right to associate with other people and to engage in speech.

The Supreme Court, the NCAA would note in a rebuttal, held in the 1988 decision NCAA v. Tarkanian that the NCAA is a private entity and is not obligated to comply with constitutional safeguards. But Tarkanian was a 5-4 decision, unlike the 9-0 vote in Alston. It could be ripe for another review.

Many contemporary judges, including both conservative and liberal, are openly hostile to NCAA amateurism. The principle of “stare decisis,” which is Latin for “to stand by things decided” and refers to the Supreme Court honoring its own precedent, is not always firm. And while the NCAA might be private, many of its members are public universities who are obligated to comply with constitutional safeguards.

A booster isn’t the only potential plaintiff. A recruit or college athlete could sue the NCAA on similar grounds. The NCAA already knows that: In House v. NCAA, college athletes argue the NCAA and its members have violated antitrust law by denying NIL for many years and continuing to deny a share of broadcasting revenue.

Maybe with that same spirit in mind, Haley Cavinder tweeted on Saturday, “dear ncaa, scared that female athletes have value? let’s hoop tho..”

(This story has been updated to accurately reflect the school where Haley and Hanna Cavinder played before transferring to the University of Miami.)

The NCAA issued its first sanctions in a case related to name, image and likeness opportunities for college athletes Friday, dinging the Miami women's basketball program with a year of probation and other minor penalties for its involvement in urging a meeting between a wealthy alum and two players who transferred to the school last summer.

The case involves several prominent figures in the nascent marketplace for NIL deals, none of whom received any direct sanctions from the NCAA. The sanctions stem from a meeting between Miami alum John Ruiz and transfer basketball players Haley and Hanna Cavinder.

Ruiz has signed more than 100 Hurricanes athletes to NIL deals to promote his company LifeWallet, some of them reportedly worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. His conversations and deals with athletes who have transferred to Miami in a number of sports have come under NCAA scrutiny in the past year. Ruiz, who was not sanctioned or disassociated from the school as a result of this case, told ESPN that the NCAA has no right to stop him from contacting any parties with whom he wants to sign a contract for his business.

"It has little to no substance and no effect on me at all," Ruiz said of the sanctions announced Friday. "It's mostly focused on the coach, and that's unfortunate. But it doesn't affect me or my business. If it did, I'd be suing the NCAA and it wouldn't be a good day for them."

Miami coach Katie Meier previously served a school-imposed three-game suspension at the start of the Hurricanes' season as a punishment related to this case. The NCAA said Meier exchanged text messages with Ruiz saying that she would make sure the Cavinder twins knew who he was after he tried to arrange a meeting with them before their official visit to campus last summer.

"For over 30 years, I have led my programs with integrity and have been a collaborative partner with the NCAA," Meier said in a statement released Friday. "Collegiate athletics is in transformation, and any inadvertent mistake I made was prior to a full understanding of implemented guardrails and the clarification issued by the NCAA in May. We all look forward to a time when there is a national solution to help our student-athletes, coaches and institutions."

The fact that Ruiz was not punished as part of the negotiated settlement between the NCAA and the University of Miami "troubled" the panel assembled to approve the sanctions.

"Boosters are involved with prospects and student-athletes in ways the NCAA membership has never seen or encountered," the members of the panel said in a statement released by the NCAA on Friday. "... In that way, addressing impermissible booster conduct is critical, and the disassociation penalty presents an effective penalty available to the Committee on Infractions."

The Cavinders, who have more than 3 million followers on social media, have been among the most prominent college athletes cashing in on their online fame with the ability to sign endorsement deals since the NCAA changed its rules in July 2021. According to Ruiz, he hosted the twins and their parents for a dinner at his house after the former Fresno State basketball players had decided to attend Miami.

Since 2021, a growing number of college sports administrators and coaches have voiced complaints that the NCAA has failed to enforce a limited set of rules governing the use of a college athlete's name, image and likeness. It is a violation of the rules to use NIL opportunities as a recruiting inducement to persuade an athlete to attend a particular school.

Due to state laws that protect NIL activities and a lack of cooperation from schools, the NCAA enforcement staff say they have a difficult time gathering evidence to substantiate any of the widespread claims that some coaches and boosters are using NIL deals as incentives to lure players to a school. In this case, the NCAA obtained text messages between Meier and Ruiz that showed a violation had occurred.

The NCAA changed its rules in January to place the burden of proof in any NIL-related investigation on the party accused of committing an NIL violation. This case was opened before those rule changes went into effect; otherwise, the NCAA investigators might have had more standing under their own rules to punish Ruiz or try to force him to prove his endorsement deal with the Cavinders was not intended to be an inducement.

Ruiz said he does not intend to change the way he uses college athletes as endorsers for his business and noted that he did not think any attempt by the NCAA to prevent him from conducting his business would stand up to a lawsuit.

Ruiz questioned why the NCAA opted to issue its first sanctions in a sport where NIL deals as recruiting inducements have not been viewed as a widespread issue. Most complaints about improper inducements have come from football and men's basketball teams. He also questioned why the NCAA would focus on two athletes who have some of the largest legitimate market values of any of their peers because of the size of their social media following.

"You're dealing with a sport that essentially is growing and we want to grow." Ruiz said. "To try to tarnish these young girls from their intention, you're almost trying to penalize these young ladies who did nothing wrong. It's in really poor taste, but luckily for them it doesn't have anything to do with me, because if they did I'd be suing them."

The Miami (Florida) women's basketball head coach violated NCAA rules when she facilitated impermissible contact between two prospects and a booster, according to an agreement released by the Division I Committee on Infractions. In facilitating the contact, the head coach also violated rules on publicity before signing and, because of her direct involvement, she violated head coach responsibility rules.

The head coach met the booster at a university event for administrators, staff, donors and potential donors. Although the head coach did not personally know the booster, she was aware that he was a prominent businessman and involved in name, image and likeness activities with student-athletes at the school. At the event, the booster and his family approached the coach to talk about the prospects' upcoming visit to the university. The head coach later called the booster to learn more about him and his work, unaware that the booster had already been in touch with the prospects' agent, until the booster informed the coach that the prospects' agent had initially declined a meeting during their upcoming visit to campus. Regardless, the booster informed the head coach that he was "here to help" and wanted women's basketball to be "huge" at Miami.

The university, head coach and enforcement staff agreed that the head coach asked an assistant coach to contact the prospects and let them know that the booster was a legitimate businessperson, and the prospects agreed to meet with him. The head coach then notified the booster that the prospects were willing to meet with him during the visit, and the booster worked with the prospects' agent to arrange a formal meeting. Ultimately, the prospects and their parents had dinner at the booster's home. During the visit, the parties did not discuss NIL opportunities, but the booster promoted the school by speaking about his children's experiences as student-athletes at Miami, and his admiration for the school and the surrounding community.

The head coach's involvement in arranging contact between the prospects and a booster violated NCAA recruiting rules. Boosters are not authorized recruiters and cannot have in-person, off-campus contact with prospects, and when the prospects visited the booster's home, it violated recruiting rules. Similarly, when the booster provided the prospects with a meal, it violated inducement rules.

The university, head coach and enforcement staff also agreed that the coach's discussion with the booster about the prospects violated NCAA recruiting rules pertaining to publicity before the recruits signed with the school.

Finally, the parties agreed that the coach violated head responsibility rules because of her direct involvement in the violations and because she did not consult with the compliance department.

This case was processed through the negotiated resolution process. The process was used instead of a formal hearing or summary disposition because the university, enforcement staff and head coach agreed on the violations and the penalties. The Division I Committee on Infractions panel reviewed the case to determine whether the resolution was in the best interests of the Association and whether the agreed-upon penalties were reasonable. Negotiated resolutions may not be appealed and do not set case precedent for other infractions cases.

Though the panel ultimately approved the negotiated resolution, it was troubled by the limited nature and severity of the agreed-upon penalties — namely, the absence of a disassociation of the involved booster. In approving the decision, the panel also provided cautionary guidance to the NCAA membership.

"Boosters are involved with prospects and student-athletes in ways the NCAA membership has never seen or encountered. … In that way, addressing impermissible booster conduct is critical, and the disassociation penalty presents an effective penalty available to the Committee on Infractions," the panel said.

However, because this case was processed prior to Jan. 1, the panel could not presume that activities around NIL resulted in an NCAA violation. The panel also concluded that, given the facts and circumstances in this case, the absence of the dissociation did not render the penalties unreasonable.

Finally, the panel noted in its decision that because this decision is a negotiated resolution, the penalties do not have precedential value, and the committee will strongly consider disassociation penalties in future cases involving NIL-adjacent conduct.

The university, enforcement staff and head coach used ranges identified by the Division I membership-approved infractions penalty guidelines to agree upon Level II-mitigated penalties for the university and Level II-mitigated penalties for the head coach. The decision contains the full list of penalties as approved by the Committee on Infractions, including:

Members of the Committee on Infractions are drawn from the NCAA membership and members of the public. The members of the panel who reviewed this case are Gary Miller, chief hearing officer and president at Akron; Dave Roberts, special advisor to Southern California; and Cassandra Kirk, chief magistrate judge in Fulton County, Georgia.

The NCAA on Friday issued its first ruling in a name, image and likeness infractions case, penalizing the Miami women’s basketball team for violating recruiting rules by facilitating contact between two prospects and a booster.

The team was placed on probation for one year, and Coach Katie Meier served a three-game suspension, which the school self-imposed, at the beginning of this season. The team also received multiple recruiting restrictions, though the players and booster involved were not punished as part of the “negotiated resolution” between Miami, Meier and the NCAA.

At the center of the case are Miami guards Haley and Hanna Cavinder, who previously played at Fresno State. The twins, who became stars after the NCAA in July 2021 enabled college athletes to capitalize on their NIL, transferred to Miami after meeting with John H. Ruiz, a prominent Hurricanes booster who has signed several Miami athletes to NIL deals, including the Cavinders.

Before the Cavinders signed with Miami, the NCAA said Meier facilitated a meeting between them and Ruiz, who had previously contacted the Cavinders’ agent in an unsuccessful attempt to broker a meeting during their visit to the school. Meier told an assistant coach to contact the players and vouch for Ruiz, the NCAA said, and the Cavinders agreed to meet with him. The two players and their parents later had dinner at Ruiz’s home, though the twins told the NCAA that the meeting did not sway their decision to play for Miami. They signed their letters of intent about a week after the dinner.

The NCAA deemed Meier’s involvement in arranging contact between Ruiz and the Cavinders to be a violation of recruiting rules. It said Ruiz providing the players with a meal violated inducement rules. It also said Meier did not communicate with the school’s compliance office to clarify whether her actions would be consistent with NCAA rules.

“After the booster asked the head coach to connect him to the prospects, the head coach reported feeling uncomfortable with the situation,” the NCAA said. “This discomfort should have prompted the head coach to seek guidance from compliance about her interactions with the booster. The head coach’s involvement to connect the family and the booster resulted in an impermissible recruiting contact and recruiting inducement.”

Miami agreed to several other minor sanctions, including a fine ($5,000, plus 1 percent of the women’s basketball budget) and a reduction in the number of official recruiting visits this season.

While the NCAA did not name Ruiz in its Friday ruling, it referenced an April 13 tweet posted by a booster last year that included a photo of “the booster, booster’s son, prospects and prospects’ parents.” Ruiz on that date posted a photo with the Cavinders after a dinner at his home that matched that description.

Ruiz, a Miami graduate, has attracted headlines and controversy for some of his efforts to contribute to his alma mater. He reportedly offered a high school quarterback a $9.5 million NIL deal to commit to the school last year, though he denied the report.

Ruiz on Friday decried the NCAA’s actions on Twitter, adding “these girls decided where to go, no one else did it for them.”

So the NCAA allows schools to inform students about NIL opportunities and says UM can’t? These girls decided where to go, no one else did it for them. Also the Cavinder Twins are the face of NIL. We are in the US, the constitution safeguards the ability to contract. After… https://t.co/aFfc41RyLF pic.twitter.com/xoHuUehND1

— John H. Ruiz, CEO LifeWallet and Attorney at Law (@JohnHRuiz) February 24, 2023

In the NCAA’s decision, it said Ruiz would not be forced to dissociate from the school, but said its Committee on Infractions “will strongly consider disassociation penalties in future cases involving NIL-adjacent conduct.”

“Boosters are involved with prospects and student-athletes in ways the NCAA membership has never seen or encountered,” it said. “In that way, addressing impermissible booster conduct is critical, and the disassociation penalty presents an effective penalty available to the COI.”

The University of Miami women’s basketball season began with an announcement on the eve of the season opener that Coach Katie Meier was suspended for the first three games while the school cooperated with an NCAA enforcement issue.

The regular season ended on Sunday with a win over Virginia on Senior Day, less than 48 hours after the NCAA announced that the Hurricanes program was being sanctioned for recruiting violations involving transfers Haley and Hanna Cavinder.

Despite the NCAA investigation hanging over the team all season, the Hurricanes finished 18-11 overall, 11-7 in the ACC, and earned the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament, which began on Wednesday.

After a first-round bye, the Hurricanes will play either the 11th-seeded Boston College Eagles (15-16, 5-13 ACC) or the 14th-seeded Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (13-15, 4-13 ACC) on Thursday. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. at the Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum and the game will air on ACC Network.

Meier said the hardest part of dealing with the NCAA probe was seeing the toll it took on her players, and the timing of the announcements – on the eve of the opener and the eve of the finale.

“The difficult part in this whole situation has been the timing, really unfortunate for my team,” Meier said Monday. “Beginning of the season, a sudden announcement, and the announcement now, Part Two. I feel like my team has suffered twice and I don’t like that and wish I could have stopped that from happening. It’s really important that somebody recognizes that my team did not deserve any of this and none of my players have done anything wrong at all. They didn’t deserve that.”

The Hurricanes are determined to put the issue behind and focus on the post-season.

The Hurricanes went 3-0 against Boston College and Georgia Tech this season, sweeping the Yellow Jackets in a home-and-home series and routing Boston College 86-65 in late January.

Miami went on an impressive run in January, but stumbled late in the season, losing three of four games before recovering against a Virginia team that dressed just six players.

The Hurricanes were picked to finish sixth in the preseason ACC poll and that is where they ended up. Graduate student Destiny Harden and transfer Haley Cavinder, one half of the Cavinder twins, have been the most consistent players for UM all season.

Haley Cavinder is the team’s leading scorer, finished in the top 10 in ACC scoring and leads the conference in free throw percentage. She is one of the most accurate free throw shooters in the nation. Harden was the hero of last year’s Miami upset of Louisville in the ACC tournament semis and remains the heart and soul of the team.

Freshman Kayla Oldacre is a 6-6 presence in the paint and is coming off a career game against Virginia.

“We’re not as consistent as some of the great teams I’ve had, as far as the same players doing the same thing every game, but there are some great surprises on this team,” Meier said. “Kyla Oldacre and Hanna (Cavinder) had great games on Sunday. We surprise people with who pops up every game, so we’re tough to scout.”

As the team was preparing for the most recent game against Louisville, Meier used the film session as a teaching moment.

“What I pointed out was not Destiny Harden highlights,” she said. “I told them to watch Lola Pendande’s defense at the end of that game. We held an amazing offensive team scoreless for five minutes and these are the plays I want us to remember.”

Notre Dame won the regular season and claimed the ACC tournament’s top seed. The Irish (24-4) will play in Friday’s second quarterfinal at 2 p.m. Duke (24-5) is the No. 2 seed. Virginia Tech (23-4) is tournament’s No. 3 seed. Louisville (21-10), despite losing to Notre Dame on Sunday, is the No. 4 seed.