"Dancing With the Stars" fans may have been surprised during the big cast reveal when a college athlete was announced as participating in the series for the first time. Notre Dame guard Arike Ogunbowale, who is a current star in the NCAA for helping bring her team to victory, os a part of the show's special all-athletes cast, and will dance alongside pro Gleb Savchenko.

However, her inclusion is more than just a first for the ABC competition series, which usually chooses contestants from a pool of celebrities or professional athletic leagues. The rest of the cast, which includes Olympians Adam Rippon, Mirai Nagasu and Jamie Anderson, World Series champion Johnny Damon and NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabar, follows that traditional model. However, there are other reasons why star athletes from college teams, especially basketball, have been unable to join the series before now.

According to USA Today, the NCAA has bylaws which prevent athletes from doing anything which allows them to profit from the fame they achieve through their athletic ability. The specific bylaw, 12.4.1, states that athletes cannot profit on anything that results from "the publicity, reputation, fame or personal following that he or she has obtained because of athletics ability."

After hitting three-pointer shots to beat UConn in the Final Four, which paved the way for Notre Dame to win the national title this year, Ogunbowale achieved the sort of fame that the clause applies to. However, it appears the NCAA has also allotted her to take advantage of a loophole in order to compete.

While she would be prohibited from doing any promotional work for "Dancing with the Stars," because that would fall under her capitalizing and making money off of her athletic abilities, she can still participate. Even more so, she can actually keep any prize money she wins on the show as well, because it is seen as a result of her dancing abilities—not the ones she has in basketball.

It will be interesting to see what happens as Ogunbowale continues to compete because unlike her fellow competitors, she has a major commitment outside of the show—like finals—but she will be allowed to take home some money most likely, even if she and Gleb are one of the first teams eliminated.

It has previously been reported that members of the cast are given $125,000 just for signing on to the show, though that may be different now due to the shortened length of the season. In addition, it is unclear if that signing bonus would be precluded from the prize money she can take home.

However, the celebrities in previous seasons were reportedly paid extra cash on a sliding scale, depending on how long they lasted in the competition. Those included an additional $10K to the signing bonus for those who made it to the 3rd or 4th episode, with the amounts raised to an additional $20-$30k for subsequent installments. Those teams who made it to the final two episodes were reportedly given an additional $50k.

It's unclear what amounts may be given to the stars this time around, or if the scale will be determined differently due to the competition only being four weeks long. However, if Ogunbowale can successfully make it through a few rounds of competition, it's safe to say she won't face any legal ramifications from her contract with the NCAA.

"Dancing With the Stars: Athletes" premieres Monday, April 30 at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.

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