USF Professor Named One of College Football’s Most Influential Figures

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Rascher, who teaches sports economics, was ranked as the sport’s tenth most influential person for his groundbreaking work on House v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (and prior cases O’Bannon and Alston). The case, which was preliminarily settled in October, paves the way for thousands of former athletes to earn a share of financial opportunities that weren’t available to them during their careers. Additionally, the settlement allows for colleges to spend an additional $20 million annually each on student athletes.

“(Rascher) has provided testimony in NCAA legal cases for years,” the article states. “Most recently, he was the plaintiffs’ expert witness in the House lawsuit expected to result in billions of dollars being shared with athletes through the damages and injunctive portions of the settlement.”

Originally published by the San Jose Mercury News, the second annual Hot 25 rankings shine a light on the top 25 key movers behind the scenes in college football. Excluded from consideration were coaches, athletic directors, conference commissioners, NCAA executives, and media personalities.

With the House settlement, the NCAA is responsible for paying almost $2.8 billion in back damages to former athletes from 2016 on. Damages are allocated into three categories – broadcast name, image, and likeness (NIL), video game NIL, and lost NIL opportunities. Rascher estimated the damages for each category and helped determine how much individual athletes can receive. He also helped to certify the different classes that were approved by the court.

“It was exciting and unexpected to see my name on that list,” Rascher said. “The work that my team and I have been doing applying antitrust economics to college sports over the past few decades has really hit its stride in the past few years.

“Athletes are now able to earn billions of dollars each year – money which used to go to building fancy facilities and paying coaches tens of millions of dollars (all in the name of trying to recruit athletes). The No. 1 names on the list (Jeffrey Kessler and Steve Berman) are the attorneys who’ve been leading this charge. We have been working on the lawsuits that they have been filing and providing the economic analysis and testimony in order to force changes to college sports, so it is not surprising that they are at the top of the list.”

Ruben Peña (‘18), assistant athletic director/football chief of staff at San Diego State University, said Rascher’s impact is undeniable.

“We are at a pivotal time in college athletics, in particular college football, and Dan is definitely deserving of this recognition for his hard work in helping shape the future landscape,” Peña said. “While there may be a ton of uncertainty with the direction that we are headed, we do know that Dan is fighting hard for the student athlete’s best interest and at the end of the day, that's what it’s all about. His leadership in this area will ensure that proper decisions are being made.”