Friday’s approval of the House settlement is expected to usher an imminent overhaul to how college sports work.
One of the most prominent changes came together quickly, as Major League Baseball executive Bryan Seeley was named CEO of the new College Sports Commission on Friday night. Sources told ESPN that Seeley has been the target for the role for weeks, and the long-awaited formalization of the House settlement triggered his hire.
Sources told ESPN that Seeley is expected to make seven figures in the new role, as he’ll quickly become one of the the most prominent figures in college sports.
Seeley is MLB’s executive vice president, legal & operations, and he brings investigative experience, which will be key in this role. In the post-settlement era, the NCAA will no longer be in charge of the enforcement of most rules. (It will still maintain purview over things like academics, but it will not patrol benefits.)
The CSC is the new era’s enforcement arm that will have final say in doling out punishments and deciding when rules have been broken. It’s one of the most important roles in this new era, as the industry has been craving some type of guidance since the advent of name, imagine and likeness has made the descriptor “wild, wild West” a common one in regards to the generally unregulated college sports industry.
In a formal announcement, Seely’s job is described as having to “build out the organization’s investigative and enforcement teams and oversee all of its ongoing operations and stakeholder relationships.” Per the release: “Seeley and his team will also be responsible for enforcement of the new rules around revenue sharing, student-athlete third-party name image and likeness (NIL) deals, and roster limits.”
Seeley was hired by the four power conference commissioners — the ACC’s Jim Phillips, Big Ten’s Tony Petitti, Big 12’s Brett Yormark and SEC’s Greg Sankey. They released a joint statement on his hire: “Bryan brings unwavering integrity and a wealth of relevant experience to his new role leading the College Sports Commission and working to ensure a smooth implementation of this new system. We’re grateful to have an individual with his credentials and expertise at the helm, and we look forward to his leadership as we transition into this new era of college sports.”
In Seeley, college sports will be getting a seasoned investigator with experience in both the private sector and professional sports. It’s the type of background those commissioners sought in their search for the role.
Following Seeley’s graduation from Harvard Law School, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., prosecuting federal white-collar fraud and public corruption cases as well as local violent crime.
MLB hired Seeley to take over its Department of Investigations in 2014. The department covers a wide swath of responsibilities, including domestic-violence, performance-enhancing-drug and age-fraud cases. Seven years ago, Seeley added compliance and security to his management portfolio, and he ascended to executive vice president in 2022. Over his decade plus at MLB, Seeley earned a reputation as a strong and competent manager whose department, which had let go of three employees following allegations of unethical behavior, consistently delivered solid work.
“Bryan is an exceptional choice to lead the College Sports Commission,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “During his time at MLB, Bryan demonstrated unparalleled integrity, a commitment to fairness, and the ability to navigate complex challenges with precision and care. I have no doubt he will bring the same level of excellence to the College Sports Commission. College sports will greatly benefit from Bryan’s expertise and vision.”
In March, Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski summed up the role of enforcement in the new era as having to be more efficient and punitive than when the NCAA was in charge of enforcement.
“We’ve screwed this thing up now to the point where we have to be willing to draw a line in the sand, and that will create some pain,” Bobinski told ESPN then. “There’s no two ways about it, and we’ll find out who’s just going to insist on stepping over the line. But if they do, you got to deal with it forcefully and quickly.”
The new era will not be without its complications. The CEO is in charge of running the systems that have been put into place by the commissioners — LBi Software and accounting firm Deloitte have been lined up to handle salary cap management and to manage the clearinghouse for NIL. Those NIL deals will be outside of the revenue share directly from schools, and how they are approved has been the focus of much conversation around the sports.
The clearinghouse that Deloitte has established will be known as NIL Go, which will be used to verify whether any deals between athletes and boosters or associated entities are for a valid business purpose, rather than a recruiting incentive. It’s described as a new technology platform that will be in place to assure that athletes’ NIL deals are in compliance with the rules.
According to information distributed at recent spring meetings, for example, investigations into athlete deals under the CSC are recommended to be resolved in 45 days. That’s a distinct shift from the ponderous NCAA process.
According to sources, the association documents being circulated for schools to sign to enter the new era detail the CEO’s role as making “final factual findings and determinations” on violations of rules. The CEO also will “impose such fines, penalties or other sanctions as appropriate” in accordance with the rules.
