June 16, 2025
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Unpacking the House settlement
By The Next
Host Missy Heidrick talks to listeners about the landmark House settlement and what it means for present and past college athletes

On the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, host Missy Heidrick catches listeners up on the latest news coming out of the NCAA. Heidrick touches on the signing of the monumental House settlement and all the ways it will shake up college athletics. She especially focuses on the ways the settlement will potentially affect NIL.
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Heidrick actually opens the show by taking a moment to talk about the WNBA. “First and foremost, Caitlin Clark missed five games for the Fever, and it has been a struggle for them,” Heidrick says. “But she was back … [with] 32 points in her big return. … She got hot, she found a rhythm.” Per Heidrick, the Fever needed that.
Later on, Heidrick discusses the implications of the House settlement and how it will affect current and former college athletes. “The NCAA is going to pay almost $3 billion in back damages over the next 10 years to athletes who competed in college at any time from 2016 to the present day,” Heidrick informs listeners. She goes onto provide more context for this massive update, including how the funding will be allocated and which programs will benefit the most from this settlement.

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Heidrick closes out the show by discussing how roster limits, another aspect of the House settlement, will affect some women’s sports. Per Heidrick, unless some teams and programs find other ways to generate revenue, “someone is going to get left behind.” As Heidrick warns, “there are going to be cuts, people are going to feel this, because that money just does not grow on trees.”
Make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about women’s college basketball, the WNBA, basketball history and much more!
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