MAAC commissioner: "difficult decisions on what budget items will be cut"

Earlier today we posted episode #115 of The Mack Report podcast. The episode is dedicated to dissecting — as much as we can — the House v. NCAA settlement and how it might affect schools like Merrimack.

TMR Pod #115: Mike and Ian talk NCAA changes

During the episode, Ian Beauchesne and I discussed the absurdity that all conferences are responsible for helping pay the $2.8 billion settlement, especially when most of the schools from the smaller conferences were never going to pay athletes to begin with.

Merrimack is moving to the MAAC next season, and MAAC commissioner Travis Tellitocci echoed exactly what we talked about in the episode in a recent interview:

“I would say the most disheartening thing for me is that we now have to make difficult decisions as to what budget items will be cut that obviously will negatively impact the student-athlete experience over the next 10 years,” he told The Times Union. “I’m not in favor of the MAAC being held liable for damages that primarily benefit athletes from the autonomy (power) conferences.”

Bingo!