April 7, 2025– perhaps one of the greatest moments in NCAA history. Not on the tracks, not on the basketball court, not on the vault-the beam-the the bars, not on any grounds of any sport, but on the court. And not for the NCAA, but athletes who compete in it. On that very day, the richest woman in NIL, ranking at number 4 in the On3 NIL 100 list, Olivia Dunne, appeared virtually during the settlement hearing to make her voice heard. “This settlement doesn’t come close to recognizing the value I lost,” Dunne said. A statement that proved vital in the tug of war between the NCAA and athletes. Former Arizona State swimmer Grant House and former TCU/Oregon basketball player Sedona Prince filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in 2020. But with a historic feat announced this week, Tara Davis-Woodhall could not help but crack up like this…
What came to be known as the House v. NCAA case had been stretching on for 59 months. It was argued that the NCAA and major athletic conferences (SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC, and Pac-12) over restrictions that prevented student-athletes from profiting from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) and from sharing in the substantial revenues generated by college sports. On June 6, 2025, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken approved a landmark $2.8 billion settlement, the amount the NCAA has to pay over the next decade to athletes who competed from 2016 to the present. Now, Tara Davis Woodhall had her problems with money when she was in college, so how could she miss a moment to not chime in?
HRTV took to their Instagram on June 6, 2025, to post about the 2.8 million NCAA settlement. “FEDERAL JUDGE APPROVES $2.8B SETTLEMENT, PAVING WAY FOR US COLLEGES TO PAY ATHLETES MILLIONS” read the text over an NCAA logo. Soon after, the post was Tara Davis Woodhall’s Instagram story where she said, “The only time I wish I was in college still” and at the bottom left of the screen, you could also read a teeny tiny, “Y’all are welcome btw“.
The reason she was to go back to college is that while the ruling made sure that starting July 1, 2025, Division I schools can directly pay athletes up to $20.5 million annually, with this cap set to increase over the next decade. Also, a new clearinghouse, NIL Go, managed by Deloitte, will oversee NIL deals exceeding $600 to ensure they reflect fair market value.
Given these conditions were there at the time Davis was in college, she would have been in the top names with big pockets because of how good of an athlete she was in college.
The collegiate career of Tara Davis Woodhall
Tara Davis-Woodhall started her collegiate track career at the University of Georgia in 2017. As a freshman, she made an immediate splash by breaking the world U20 record in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.98 seconds during the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships. She also placed third in the long jump at that same meet, earning her the SEC Indoor Women’s Co-Freshman Field Athlete of the Year award. After this standout season, she transferred to the University of Texas in 2018 but had to sit out the 2018–19 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
At that time, NCAA rules required athletes who transferred between four-year institutions to sit out a full academic year before competing at their new school. However, in 2024, the NCAA eliminated this rule, allowing all Division I athletes to transfer and play immediately, provided they meet academic eligibility standards and progress-toward-degree requirements at their new institution. Returning to competition stronger than ever, Davis-Woodhall made 2021 her breakout year.
At the Texas Relays, she shattered the collegiate outdoor long jump record with a leap of 7.14 meters, breaking a mark that had stood since 1985. That year, she claimed both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the long jump, along with the Big 12 Outdoor title. Over her college career, she earned five First-Team All-American honors—four in long jump and one in hurdles—cementing her status as one of the top collegiate track athletes.
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