NCAA President Charlie Baker tells membership hearing on $2.78B settlement 'did not go as we hoped'

In a letter to NCAA membership Friday, President Charlie Baker said a preliminary approval hearing for a landmark $2.78 billion antitrust settlement “did not go as we hoped” and that the association and major college conferences are trying to address the judge's concerns about parts of the proposed deal.

The settlement agreement college sports leaders believe is vital to transform the enterprise, get out from under the constant threat of litigation and avoid a potentially crippling financial outcome at trial ran into a stumbling block Thursday night.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken not only declined to grant preliminary approval, but she sent the two sides “back to the drawing board” and asked them to report back in three weeks with answers to her questions.

“Last night’s hearing did not go as we hoped. The court posed worthwhile questions that the NCAA began working through immediately last night with our partners in the conferences,” Baker wrote in the letter obtained by AP.