Judge hands NCAA another loss, says compensation rules likely violate antitrust law, harm athletes

The NCAA lost another legal battle Friday as a federal judge barred the organization from enforcing its rules prohibiting name, image and likeness compensation for recruits by granting a preliminary injunction demanded by the states of Tennessee and Virginia.

It was another blow to the NCAA's ability to govern college sports and more than 500,000 athletes.

Gabe Feldman, a sports law professor at Tulane, said an act of Congress might save the NCAA even as he noted this was just a preliminary injunction in one district court with the NCAA expected to appeal. That would go to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overseeing Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan.

"There's no question the NCAA has never faced more attacks from different areas at one time," Feldman said. "And things are snowballing. And I think that's why there are so many serious discussions about how college sports needs to change and what those changes will look like."

U.S. District Judge Clifton Corker in the Eastern District of Tennessee issued the injunction that undercuts what has been a fundamental principle of the NCAA's model of amateurism for decades: Third parties cannot pay recruits to attend a particular school.

The judge wrote the NCAA's stance likely violates antitrust law with Congress so far unwilling to give the association an exemption. The judge said athletes with a limited window are hurt by not being able to know their true value before committing to a school.

The decision led to questions about whether boosters will suddenly open the floodgates with offers to potential recruits. Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weinberg said the Cowboys had anticipated the decision but "we are awaiting further guidance from the Big 12 Conference and NCAA."

The NCAA said it would review the ruling and talk with its member schools about possible policy changes. But the NCAA said turning rules supported by its members "upside down" will only make an already chaotic situation worse and lessen protections keeping athletes from being exploited.

"An endless patchwork of state laws and court opinions make clear partnering with Congress is necessary to provide stability for the future of all college athletes," the NCAA said in its statement on the same day NCAA President Charlie Baker discussed the situation on Capitol Hill.

"I think in the end, we are going to need Congress to do something," Baker said. "Because people will draw a lot of conclusions from court decisions. And then there will be new ones."

Helen Drew, a professor of sports law at the University of Buffalo, said Baker is not identifying any specific bill for Congress. She also said this all is accelerating quickly after the NCAA did virtually nothing for years.

"Why have they not been addressing this?" Drew said. "The model's falling apart.'"

The attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia filed a federal lawsuit on Jan. 31 challenging the NCAA's NIL rules after it was revealed the University of Tennessee was under investigation for potential infractions.