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A federal judge on Tuesday approved a reworked settlement between the National Collegiate Athletic Association and thousands of former athletes who suffered head injuries playing college sports. The agreement remains largely unchanged from the original class action settlement announced in 2014, including requiring the NCAA to establish a $70 million fund for testing brain trauma in college athletes. The new deal, however, also requires that all NCAA institutions adopt stronger concussion management and return-to-play guidelines.
The NCAA does not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement. Earlier this month, the association's five wealthiest Division I leagues -- the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conferences -- adopted a new policy that granted "unchallengeable authority" to team physicians and athletic trainers in return-to-play decisions involving injured athletes.
