By Spencer Ripchik, The Dominion Post
MORGANTOWN — Lawmakers, WVU president Michael T. Benson, athletic director Wren Baker, football coach Rich Rodriguez and three WVU football players were in attendance Thursday to watch West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey sign two bills into law inside WVU football’s team room.
Morrisey signed House Bill 2595, which authorized higher education institutions to establish a nonprofit to manage revenue sharing and NIL opportunities for student athletes. He then signed House Bill 2576, which is called the NIL Protection Act.
“I can tell you, as the governor of the state, I want to do everything I can to help WVU and other higher education institutions succeed in this new NIL framework,” Morrisey said. “That’s why I’m proud to be here today.”
In Bill 2576, nonprofits are now required to be controlled by the schools with the goal to “maximize” NIL opportunities for student athletes and efficiency in conducting business. Recently, in the case of the House v. NCAA settlement, it ruled that schools were allowed to directly pay student athletes part of revenue sharing up to $20.5 million annually per school. Baker announced at a press conference in late August that WVU had raised enough funds to reach that mark.
