Livvy Dunne Reportedly Among 3 Athletes to Present Objections Ahead of NCAA Settlement

LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne will be among three athletes speaking in front of a judge Monday to present objections to the House-NCAA settlement, per CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd.

There's essentially two parts to the House settlement. First, the NCAA has agreed to pay $2.576 billion in back-pay damages to Division I athletes who competed from 2016 to 2024. Combined with the Hubbard and Carter anti-trust cases, that number rises to $2.8 billion.

Second, the NCAA has agreed to create a framework for athletes regarding both revenue-sharing and NIL opportunities. Ralph Russo of the Associated Press gave some detail in part last May.

"In the new compensation model, each school will be permitted but not required to set aside up to $21 million in revenue to share with athletes per year, though as revenues rise so could the cap," Russo wrote.

"Athletes in all sports would be eligible for payments and schools would be given the freedom to decide how that money is divvied up among sports programs. Scholarship limits by sport will be replaced by roster restrictions."

On May 23, 2024, the NCAA voted to settle the lawsuit. However, the settlement still needs to be approved by Judge Claudia Wilken, who granted a preliminary approval last October.

That final hearing is scheduled for Monday. Dunne, Utah swimmer Gannon Flynn and high school track athlete Gracelynn Laudermilch will speak in front of Wilken.

Dunne's issues with the settlement were revealed on Jan. 31, per Steve Berkowitz of USA Today.

Dodd added more information on Wilken's role in this case: "While Wilken has made it clear she cannot make changes to the settlement, she will hear those objections only as they apply to whether the case should go to trial."

Dodd added more remarks from Mit Winter, a sports law attorney, who said "there is a not insignificant chance" that Wilken will does not approve this settlement.

If that happens, the case goes to trial. And if the NCAA loses that trial, the organization would then owe triple the damages, per Dodd, and that "that would effectively bankrupt and end the association."

So remarkably, there are two huge stories in college sports on Monday. One, of course, is the Division I men's college basketball championship between Florida and Houston.

But then there's Judge Wilken's decision (which will be preceded in part by her listening to three objections, including Dunne's), which will also take centerstage.