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Tennessee sports can ignore NCAA NIL recruitment rules. For now, court says.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — For now, the University of Tennessee will be less encumbered by NCAA recruitment rules for awhile, according to a federal court ruling on Friday.

The University of Tennessee has been in a legal battle with the NCAA name and likeness rules when it comes to NIL recruiting. NIL stands for name, image and likeness. For decades, college athletes could only be paid in scholarships and cheers from the crowd. Now, players can sign lucrative NIL deals with companies and other groups to compensate them for their notoriety.

“The court’s grant of a preliminary injunction against the NCAA’s illegal NIL-recruitment ban ensures the rights of student-athletes will be protected for the duration of this case, but the bigger fight continues,” Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a statement. “We will litigate this case to the fullest extent necessary to ensure the NCAA’s monopoly cannot continue to harm Tennessee student-athletes. The NCAA is not above the law, and the law is on our side.”

Right now, if you're a student-athlete, you have to commit to a school before you can negotiate an NIL deal. Skrmetti thinks that's wrong.

Tennessee will remain under this injunction until the next court order.

Santa Train stops feel especially impactful in wake of Hurricane Helene

There are still so many families in East Tennessee hurting following the floods from Hurricane Helene in September. That made this year's running of the Santa Train extra special for many families in the northeast part of the state. This special Santa Express has been making an annual run in part of Appalachia for over 80 years.

-Lelan Statom