Former DI baseball volunteer coaches are in line to receive $32K each if settlement gets final OK

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — About 1,000 Division I baseball volunteer coaches from 2018-23 could receive an average of more than $32,000 apiece as part of a class action lawsuit settlement given preliminary approval last week.

Former volunteer assistants Taylor Smart of Arkansas and Michael Hacker California-Davis in 2022 filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division, alleging the NCAA and its member schools unlawfully restricted competition in the college baseball labor market by limiting the number of paid coaches on Division I staffs. Each team could have four coaches, but only three could be paid.

The NCAA began allowing all four coaches to be paid beginning July 1, 2023.

The $49.25 million settlement with the NCAA would provide an average payment of $32,794.85 to each volunteer assistant who was on a staff from Nov. 29, 2018, to July 1, 2023.

U.S. District Judge William Shubb wrote that the payment “represents a strong result for the class” and that each member’s share will be based on factors including where the volunteer worked and for how long.

Shubb set a final fairness hearing for Sept. 15. Front Office Sports first reported the preliminary approval.

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