Arrington Class Settlement Information

The final approval and effective date of the Arrington class settlement agreement for the medical monitoring portion of Arrington v. NCAA was November 18, 2019. The agreement has implications for NCAA member schools and their concussion-related policies and procedures. Members should review this information with applicable legal and other advisors, and school staff who might assist in appropriately evaluating this information as it applies to individual institutional risk and practices.

Concussion reporting for member schools

The settlement terms require a process for NCAA member schools to report instances of diagnosed concussions and resolutions in student-athletes. In January 2020, all three NCAA divisions adopted rules requiring an active member school to collect and report on concussions diagnosed on or after May 18, 2020.

The initial concussion reporting cycle will begin on July 1, 2020. The online reporting portal will be available to the membership on July 1, 2020.

Note: Concussion reporting obligations are separate from and not related to the certification process, which closed on May 18, 2020.

Reminder: Section IX.C. of the Arrington Settlement Agreement obligates the NCAA to “create a reporting process through which member institutions will report instances of diagnosed concussions in NCAA student-athletes and their resolution.” In January 2020, all three NCAA divisions passed emergency or noncontroversial legislation (Division I Constitution 4.3.4.21;Division II Constitution 3.3.4.18; Division III Constitution 3.2.4.18) requiring an active member institution “to report all instances of diagnosed sport-related concussions in student-athletes and their resolution to the NCAA on an annual basis pursuant to policies and procedures maintained by the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports.”

NCAA Concussion Reporting and Data Collection

What should member schools do now?

The NCAA national office will continue to provide information and address membership questions about the Arrington settlement activities in the coming months. In the meantime, if they have not already done so, member schools should carefully review applicable concussion reporting legislation and begin planning for the initial reporting period which will begin on July 1, 2020. Additional questions may be submitted to the NCAA National Office via the Sport Science Institute at ssi@ncaa.org.

This content is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice or a substitute for legal advice.

Medical monitoring program for student-athletes

NCAA student-athletes who played an NCAA sport at a member school on or prior to July 15, 2016, and who did not opt out of participation may be entitled to free medical screening and may receive free medical testing, known as medical monitoring, up to two times over the next 50 years. Class members do not need to have been diagnosed with a concussion to be a member of the medical monitoring class.

Class members who would like to participate in the medical monitoring program can register and sign up for updates at www.collegeathleteconcussionsettlement.com.

Medical monitoring certifications

The settlement agreement provided NCAA member schools with an opportunity to benefit from a release from certain legal claims that might otherwise be brought by members of the settlement class. To have benefitted from the release, member schools must have certified in writing by May 18, 2020, that they have put in place a concussion management plan that meets the requirements of Section IX.A. of the settlement agreement.

February 2020 FAQs

November 2019 FAQs

Information for general counsels (Dec. 2019)

Arrington Settlement Agreement

Concussion-related policies and procedures for campus administrators

The purpose of this memo is to announce the final approval and effective date of the class settlement agreement for the medical monitoring portion of Arrington v. NCAA, which has implications for member institutions and their concussion-related policies and procedures. This content is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice or a substitute for legal advice. We encourage you to review the content with applicable legal and other advisors and school staff who might assist you in appropriately evaluating this information as it applies to your individual institutional risk and practices.

Earlier this week, a memo was sent from the NCAA Office of Legal Affairs to the general counsel of each member institution or, at institutions where counsel has not been identified, the president/chancellor. The purpose of that memo was to notify campus risk management staff of the established effective date of the settlement agreement for Arrington v. NCAA, and to urge timely institutional review of the terms of this settlement.

Certifications must be submitted by May 18, 2020

The settlement agreement provides NCAA member institutions with an opportunity to benefit from a release from certain legal claims that might otherwise be brought by members of the settlement class. To benefit from the release, member institutions must certify in writing that they have put in place a concussion management plan that meets the requirements of Section IX.A. of the settlement agreement (described in the attached FAQ document). Certifications must be delivered to certain court-identified settlement representatives within six months of the settlement agreement effective date of November 18, 2019, which means schools will have to deliver their written certifications no later than May 18, 2020. Guidance on the certification process will be made available to the membership in early 2020.

Go to FAQ document for details

As a companion to this memo, a Frequently Asked Questions document has been provided to facilitate member institutions’ review of the settlement terms. Additional information and instructions will be provided by the NCAA national office in the coming months.

What should I do now?

In the meantime, institutions should begin a careful review of the settlement terms in conjunction with their general counsel and/or primary risk management staff. Additional questions may be submitted to the NCAA National Office via the Sport Science Institute at ssi@ncaa.org.

Guidance to the NCAA membership about the Arrington Certification Process

The purpose of this memo is to provide membership with: (1) additional information about the availability of an online platform and process that has been established to facilitate membership certification under the Arrington Class Settlement Agreement; and (2) access to related educational and instructional materials.

The content of this memo is being provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice or a substitute for legal advice. We encourage you to review the content with applicable legal and other advisors and other institutional staff who might assist you in appropriately evaluating this information as it applies to your individual institutional decision about certification and related risks and practices.

REMINDER – Certifications must be submitted by May 18, 2020

In accordance with Section IX.B of the Settlement Agreement, certification is optional for NCAA member schools; but it provides certifying institutions with an opportunity to benefit from a release from certain legal claims that might otherwise be brought by members of the settlement class. To benefit from the release, member institutions must certify in writing, on or before 11:59 PM CDT (Chicago time) on May 18, 2020, that they have put in place a concussion management plan that meets the requirements of Section IX.A of the Settlement Agreement and must provide a copy of the certification to the Special Master, Class Counsel, and the Notice Administrator as described in the Settlement Agreement. Please note that, while all three divisions continue to explore the possibility of delaying certain other membership reporting obligations in response to the impact of COVID-19, the May 18 certification deadline is imposed by the terms of the Settlement Agreement which is a legal document. The Settlement Agreement does not provide for any opportunity for an extension or waiver of that deadline and the deadline should be considered permanent and immovable.

Certification Process

A certification website and electronic certification process have been established and will be managed by third party settlement administrator Epiq Mass Tort (EPIQ). The certification website is immediately available to membership with step-by-step instructions for member institutions.

After Certification

Upon successful completion of the certification process, the individual that certifies on behalf of the institution will immediately receive an email confirming that the certification document has been completed. The email will include a pdf copy of the signed certification and the signer will be able to review an online copy as well. EPIQ will subsequently send a confirmation email to the following school personnel at the address that was on file with the NCAA on March 15:

Director of Athletics.
Athletics Health Care Administrator.
Director of Compliance and General Counsel (or, where no General Counsel, the President/Chancellor).

The executed certification form will also be automatically uploaded to the settlement website. Finally, EPIQ will provide a copy of the executed certification form to each of the Special Master, Class Counsel, and the Notice Administrator, on behalf of the certifying institution, as required under the Settlement Agreement. Please note that it may take EPIQ several days after completion of the certification process to fully complete these activities.

Please note that, to support membership certification efforts, EPIQ intends to send subsequent reminders of the certification deadline to the limited group of Association stakeholders identified above at member institutions that have not yet submitted a certification between now and the certification deadline.

Frequently Asked Questions

In addition to the instructional information about the certification process, we have developed a Frequently Asked Questions document that contains answers to anticipated membership questions related to the certification process. Certification FAQ

Recommended Next Steps

As indicated above, we encourage you to review the content of Section IX and other related provisions of the Settlement Agreement, as well as the sample certification form with applicable legal advisors and other school staff who might assist in appropriately evaluating the certification requirements and decision, in each case as they apply to individual institutional risks and practices. Links to relevant certification materials are provided again for your convenience below.

We appreciate the efforts required to comply with the certification requirements, especially during these extremely challenging times. We remain committed to working with the membership to support and facilitate compliance and we greatly appreciate your continued partnership toward that effort. As always, please contact us at ssi@ncaa.org in the event you have any questions.