The NCAA Division I Board of Directors on Monday proposed deleting 153 longstanding rules from its handbook, a move that will allow schools to share financial benefits directly with players — an expected step towards a new era of amateurism in college athletics, but one that remains contingent upon the approval of the House settlement.

NCAA board members met for about four hours on Monday and emerged with nine major proposed legislative changes, including permission for schools to provide direct financial payments to players, including for use of their NIL. NCAA leaders are aiming to reshape the organization’s role and are poised to effectuate sweeping changes by July 1 if the settlement is approved. Schools have until June 15 to decide whether to opt to provide benefits that would be permissible under the settlement for the coming academic year.

Proposed legislation also includes sport-specific roster limits and allowing full scholarships to all student-athletes on a declared roster — a move the NCAA said will double the scholarships available in women’s sports.

The proposed changes would also align with the expected House settlement in that it would allow Power 4 schools and others who choose to offer settlement-related benefits to provide up to $20.5 million in direct financial benefits to players. (Not all Division I schools will choose to operate in the new system enabled by the settlement, as the Ivy League has chosen to opt out and continue to operate under the current structure.)

The new NIL clearinghouse and enforcement arm that aims to coexist with expected settlement terms was also included, along with rules “intended to bring clarity and stability to the NIL environment for all Division I schools.” To prevent schools from trying to circumvent the $20.5 million cap, the NCAA has proposed rules to help add stability and accountability. All players will be required to disclose their NIL agreements if they are greater or equal to $600. Agreements between the player and a third party outside of their school will be reviewed.

The board also approved new rules that would create technology platforms for the schools to monitor their payments to players and for the athletes to report their third-party NIL agreements. There are also steps the players can take if an NIL agreement is considered “outside of the range of compensation” developed by the external, independent clearinghouse.

An enforcement group that will be created and operated by the defendant conferences will aim to “provide oversight for rules relating to the terms of the settlement, including third-party NIL and the annual benefits cap,” according to the NCAA.

Players will still be allowed to hire agents for NIL purposes, but the NCAA will still use certain eligibility rules that have been used to “distinguish Division I athletics from professional sports,” according to a document that summarizes the legislative changes. For the athletes to receive these benefits, the NCAA will require them to be enrolled full-time, meet Division I progress-toward-degree requirements and earn the benefits during their five-year eligibility period.

BERKELEY, Calif. — Cal football general manager Ron Rivera sought to ease the concerns of a worried fan base after star running back Jaydn Ott and several other key players entered the transfer portal this spring.

“We’re not the only team in the NCAA that is going through this portal situation right now,” Rivera said Monday. “You can’t name a team right now that doesn’t have a player that they wish didn’t go in. We understand all it and we all understand fan favorites. There will be other favorites.”

Cal has been hit hard this spring after losing starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza to Indiana earlier this year. The biggest loss was Ott, who left for Oklahoma earlier this month after three stellar years at Cal.

Ott led the Pac-12 with 1,315 yards rushing in 2023 and was expected to be a key part of the offense in 2025 after being hampered by injuries last season.

“Did we give Jaydn Ott a great shot? I believe we did,” Rivera said. “Sometimes an athlete just thinks I’ve accomplished all I can here and it’s time to move on. … The hard part about him leaving early is here’s a young man that had an opportunity to really create the type of legacy that you could be proud of. But again, it was his decision that he felt was best for himself.”

The Golden Bears also saw leading rusher Jaivian Thomas enter the portal last week and reportedly three other scholarship running backs went into the portal.

Cal also lost star tight end Jack Endries to Texas in the portal, leading to several big holes on offense.

“It was something that was anticipated,” Rivera said. “If there is one guy that we wished didn’t go in, yeah, there was at least one that we wish didn’t go in. But for the most part when you look at what we’re doing, we have a plan. We went out and we’ve identified a number of guys that we like and a number of guys that if we can get these guys we’re pretty much where we were a month ago. Are we concerned? Yes. We have to get those guys in.”

Rivera made clear that he will have his “hands in every facet of Cal football” and answer directly to Chancellor Rich Lyons instead of athletic director Jim Knowlton. Rivera said he consults with Lyons on every major decision and is working closely with coach Justin Wilcox and his staff with the major goal of making Cal football “relevant again.”

Wilcox is entering his ninth season in charge of the Golden Bears and has a 42-50 career record. Cal went 6-7 last season in its first year in the ACC, losing to UNLV in the LA Bowl.

The Bears haven’t finished with a winning record since 2019, haven’t finished a season ranked in the AP poll since 2006 and haven’t played in a top-tier bowl game since the 1959 Rose Bowl.

Rivera said it has been “cool” to work with Wilcox through spring practice and the two are intent on sparking the program.

“What I have with Justin is a working relationship,” Rivera said. “It’s an opportunity for he and I to get together, discuss, collaborate and talk about the things we need to do as a university to help this football program become a very successful program that thrives for excellence.”

The Seattle Kraken are making a series of sweeping changes, starting with Monday’s announcement of coach Dan Bylsma’s firing after just one season.

“We thank Dan for his commitment and the energy he brought to our organization over the past four years at the NHL and AHL levels,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis said in a statement. “After a thorough review of the season and our expectations for next year and beyond, we’ve made the difficult decision to move in a different direction behind the bench.”

Other expected changes include Francis being named team president and assistant general manager Jason Botterill being promoted to general manager, a source confirmed to ESPN amid multiple media reports.

In addition, assistant coach Jessica Campbell, who is the first woman to be behind a bench in NHL history, is being retained, a source told ESPN. She signed a two-year contract with the club last season.

Seattle’s restructuring comes at a time in which the franchise is attempting to find cohesion that has been elusive since the NHL’s 32nd team made its debut in the 2021-22 season.

The Kraken, who fired Dave Hakstol last season, will be searching for their third head coach in as many seasons.

Bylsma, who previously coached the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins, had coached the Kraken’s AHL affiliate — where Campbell was also an assistant — for two seasons. They would lead the Coachella Valley Firebirds to consecutive AHL championship game appearances before being promoted to the NHL.

Hiring Bylsma came with the belief that he could parlay his AHL success into the Kraken either returning to the playoffs or being a team that challenged for a postseason berth for most of the season.

It was more of the same, however. After winning 34 games in Hakstol’s final season, the Kraken won 35 games while finishing 20 points adrift of the final Western Conference wild-card spot in what ultimately became Bylsma’s lone campaign.

With the playoffs out of the picture, the Kraken were active ahead of the NHL trade deadline. They received 2026 and 2027 first-round picks from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde while receiving additional draft capital in separate deals for Brandon Tanev and Daniel Sprong.

While they have a three-player restricted free agent class that’s led by Kaapo Kakko, the No. 2 pick of the 2019 NHL draft who was acquired in a trade this season, the Kraken have most of their team under contract next season.

They also have more than $21.7 million in projected available cap space that could be used to strengthen a roster that’s trying to challenge in a Western Conference landscape that saw 11 teams finish with more than 89 points.

Francis is slated to speak with reporters Tuesday afternoon, when he will likely address the Kraken’s future and his role going forward. The Hall of Famer had previously served as the Carolina Hurricanes‘ GM before he was hired to take over the Kraken.

His time in charge has seen the franchise seek to build from within using the draft while also dipping into free agency. It has led to the Kraken building what is one of the stronger farm systems in the NHL. But after again missing the playoffs and having mixed results in free agency, questions have emerged about what direction the franchise would be taking and if Francis would be involved.

Botterill, who has been with the Kraken since the 2020-21 season, was the Sabres’ GM for three seasons. Under his stead, Buffalo drafted talents such as Casey Mittelstadt, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson and Dylan Cozens as the team sought to insulate then-star center and captain Jack Eichel.

Now, Botterill will be faced with trying to make the Kraken competitive in a market where the team has struggled to gain traction while also being one of the most expensive to watch, according to the Fan Cost Index.

He’ll be charged with trying to find a new coach in what’s expected to be an active market. The Kraken now join the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers as teams seeking a new bench boss.