The NCAA, which represents about 1,100 schools and more than 500,000 athletes, is no stranger to lawsuits. It has gone to court on and off since the early 1980s to defend the amateur athlete model that is the core of college sports.
But the organization has suffered a series of court defeats, most notably a 9-0 Supreme Court decision in 2021 in which justices ruled that the NCAA cannot limit education-related benefits that universities offer their athletes. In a powerful concurring opinion in the case, Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested the organization could be violating antitrust law.
The case of the Chamber
House vs. the NCAA is a class-action lawsuit in the Northern District of California before federal Judge Claudia Wilken, whose previous rulings in NCAA cases have paved the way for college athletes to profit from their fame and for schools to steer more money into their hands.
Legal experts had warned that an NCAA loss in this case would upend college sports as we know it, and they were right. The NCAA and the nation’s major conferences decided in May to settle the allegations for $2.8 billion and move toward some kind of sharing of athletes’ revenue from all those billions of dollars in television contracts for top-tier college football and March Madness basketball.
The House case settlement was expected to potentially resolve several other antitrust lawsuits, including:
— A California case whose plaintiffs include Duke football player Dewayne Carter, TCU basketball player Sedona Prince and Stanford soccer player Nya Harrison. It seeks to prohibit the NCAA from enforcing any rules prohibiting compensation to athletes.
Oklahoma team members drive the Sooner Schooner down the field after a touchdown against TCU during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Nov. 24, 2023, in Norman, Okla. Texas and Oklahoma are finally making their long-awaited conference switch from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference. Credit: KeynoteUSA/Alonzo Adams
— Hubbard v. NCAA, which seeks damages for athletes who were denied education-related stipends that resulted from the Alston case. Plaintiffs include former Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard and former Auburn track athlete Keira McCarrell, and the suit seeks triple damages for all current and former Division I athletes since 2018.
— A similar lawsuit seeking to overturn NCAA rules on compensation to schools and conferences was filed in federal court by former Colorado football player Alex Fontenot in November 2023. A judge ruled the case should remain in Colorado.
The biggest question for the NCAA, should the House deal pass, is getting some assurance from Congress that it won’t be dragged back to court over the same issues by future college athletes. In July, for example, more than a dozen former college basketball players sued the NCAA and major conferences for unspecified damages; they are profiting from unauthorized use of their names, images and likenesses (NIL) to promote and monetize the March Madness tournament.
Are athletes employees?
Kansas players Russell Robinson (3), Mario Chalmers (15), Brady Morningstar, back, and Sherron Collins, right, celebrate their 75-68 win over Memphis in the NCAA college basketball Final Four championship game, Monday, April 7, 2008, in San Antonio. Kansas stars Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins are among 16 former men’s college basketball players who have sued the NCAA and several conferences, alleging they are profiting from unauthorized use of their names, images and likenesses to promote and monetize the March Madness tournament. Credit: KeynoteUSA/Eric Gay
There are multiple matters before the National Labor Relations Board, including a complaint against USC and the Pac-12; a unionization effort by the Dartmouth men’s basketball team; an unfair labor complaint against Notre Dame; and a federal lawsuit in Pennsylvania filed by former Villanova football player Trey Johnson.
All of this could lead to college athletes being granted employee status, though court battles are assured. Johnson and others are seeking hourly wages similar to those earned in work-study programs. The Dartmouth team voted 13 to 2 to form a union, though many steps remain ahead, including a possible legal battle.
The NCAA and its member schools have insisted that they do not consider athletes to be employees who can collectively bargain over salary and benefits.
Is NIL compensation a settled issue?
No. Attorneys general from Tennessee and Virginia filed a federal lawsuit in the Eastern District of Tennessee challenging the NCAA’s NIL rules after it was revealed that the University of Tennessee was among schools facing potential penalties for violations. On Feb. 23, a judge granted a preliminary injunction against the NIL rules, saying they likely violated antitrust law.
Athletes are free to transfer
Although the NCAA in recent years had relaxed some of its transfer limits, several states and the Justice Department went to court earlier this year, arguing that the NCAA’s one-year delay in eligibility for college students who transfer a second time to Division I violates antitrust law. In May, the NCAA and states announced a settlement that allows athletes to be immediately eligible to play no matter how many times they transfer and offers some who were sidelined an extra year of eligibility.
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