After years of players, the NCAA and even the Supreme Court debating for change in the economic structure of college sports, change may finally have arrived. On Monday, the NCAA Division I Council voted to recommend the Division I Board of Directors adopt an interim policy to allow student-athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness until a more permanent policy can be put into place.

What this would mean for college athletes is their restrictions of making money on endorsements, sponsorships and public events would be removed. The recommendation was not enough, however, as the Board of Directors met Wednesday to approve the policy. This policy is set to take place from Thursday until an official policy can be put into place.

This means for the time being, Iowa State athletes can begin to accept endorsement opportunities and other financial offers. A few Cyclones have already discussed their excitement for the changing policy, including men’s basketball player George Conditt IV.

“I would have a car by now, guys,” Conditt said. “I wouldn’t be riding around Ames on a scooter like I’m doing now.”

Conditt also took advantage of the changing situation through a tweet Sunday, saying, “My DMs are open for business.”

While the board did approve of the policy, there is a minor restriction. It was suggested that the NCAA should allow athletes to “engage in NIL activities that are consistent with the laws of the state.” This means that regulations for sponsorships will not be consistent with schools from different states, creating recruiting benefits for some schools that others will not have. The state of Iowa does not currently have NIL laws, so this will allow the people in charge at Iowa State to create their own policy on how this will be governed for the time being.

Another concern that has come up is that the decision could destroy the balance of college sports. Many fans believe recruits are far more likely to select a powerhouse school, helping them bring in more endorsements. This question can only be answered with time, as we are yet to see the impact the decision will truly have.

There are many players at Iowa State that would instantly benefit from these changes, such as Breece Hall, Xavier Foster, Lexi Donarski, David Carr and many others, making this decision a very important one for the NCAA. As long as the new policy continues, the players would just have to track their earnings based on name, image and likeness to ensure they coincide with guidelines.

This policy has been debated for years now, and it appears the climax may finally be over. The interim policy was put into place to put this policy into action more quickly, but a full-time policy may also be on the horizon.