Judge approves volunteer coaches' $303 million settlement with NCAA

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Volunteer coaches in 44 different college sports scored preliminary approval of their $303 million settlement with the NCAA on Monday, less than a year after volunteer baseball coaches paved the way with a $50 million payday.
 

The NCAA agreed to compensate around 7,700 current and former college sports coaches for unpaid wages in a set of three payouts over two years based on a formula. Some details remain unclear, but no class member will receive less than $5,000. No more than 30% of the fund — about $90.1 million — is tentatively slated for attorneys’ fees.
 

Monday’s preliminary approval of the settlement isn’t the last step. A final settlement hearing is scheduled for April before U.S. District Judge William Shubb, a George H.W. Bush appointee.

“It appears a lot of work has gone into this,” Shubb said Monday.
 

The judge asked a handful of questions to attorney Dennis Stewart, representing the class of coaches who served in the role from March 17, 2019, to June 30, 2023. Shubb noted that the settlement calls for a $25,000 payment for each of the five class representatives. Typically, $5,000 per representative is adequate, and fewer than five representatives expected, the judge said.
 

Stewart said the representatives greatly assisted and helpedtheir legal team understand the case.
 

“They took a reputational risk in this case,” Stewart said, adding that some continue to coach.

Asked by Shubb for any comment about the preliminary settlement, NCAA attorney Carolyn Luedtke declined to speak.
 

“We think it’s an excellent settlement,” Stewart told Courthouse News after the hearing, adding he hoped Shubb would approve the final settlement in a few months.
 

A hearing on that final settlement is set for April 21. The next three months provides time for class members to receive notification of the settlement. Each member can choose to remain in the class, opt out or provide comment.
 

The class filed its legal action in March 2023, arguing that the NCAA violated its bylaws by prohibiting compensation to volunteer coaches. They called the move an illegal agreement that restrained trade under the Sherman Act.
 

Last year, a separate class action brought by volunteer NCAA baseball coaches settled for almost $50 million, covering about 1,000 baseball coaches who served between Nov. 29, 2018, and July 1, 2023. Each coach was expected to receive around $36,000 per year they volunteered. Some coaches who spent multiple years at larger schools could get six-figure sums.
 

According to attorneys for the class in Monday’s action, the NCAA vigorously defended the case. It tried to transfer the case, or alternatively dismiss it, shortly after filing. A judge months later denied both motions.
 

Class attorneys said they then began to quantify what they called the “wage fix,” their attempt at determining classwide damages. They tried to get compensation data from the NCAA, which claimed it had no specific information about volunteer or coach pay.
 

The plaintiffs asked in November 2024 for class certification, which it gained in July 2025. Serious settlement discussions started afterward, as the progress of the baseball coach class action gave insight into the strength of the litigation and the possible damages.
 

The parties then reached a tentative settlement on Oct. 10 after a full day of negotiations, attorneys said.