By Mike Scarcella
WASHINGTON, Oct 26 (Reuters) – The National Collegiate Athletic Association has been sued in a proposed class action by current and former athletes alleging it illegally prohibits schools in its largest division from offering athletic scholarships.
Here are the details:
• The plaintiffs contend the NCAA’s Division III, which includes more than 400 schools, is violating antitrust law by fixing the price of athletic labor at zero. The lawsuit was filed on Friday in federal court in Los Angeles
• Division III is the NCAA’s fastest-growing by school count, according to the lawsuit. The schools include Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University, University of Chicago, Williams College and Caltech. The lawsuit says more than 175,000 athletes compete in Division III in a single academic year
• Many Division III schools have significant athletic budgets that outpace those of larger schools but “have agreed not to deploy a single dollar of those budgets in the form of athletic aid that would reduce the cost of college for their athletes,” the lawsuit said
• The NCAA says the unavailability of athletic scholarships by Division III schools is a “core principle” that “athletics participation should not be financially rewarded in the same way as academic achievement”
• The NCAA has faced a mounting number of lawsuits across the country over eligibility rules. A federal appeals court is weighing a multibillion-dollar settlement that would compensate thousands of athletes for the commercial use of their names, images and likenesses
The case is Connor Printz et al v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, US District Court, Central District of California, No. 2:26-cv-12448.
For plaintiffs: Andrew Purdy of Brown Neri Smith & Khan; Michael Goldberg of Arrowblue; Christine Brown of Christine Brown Sports Law; Matt Strauser of Burns Charest
For defendant: no appearances yet
(Reporting by Mike Scarcella)
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