A monumental decision has come down on Monday as the US Supreme Court has ruled against the NCAA in an antitrust case.
From USA TODAY’s Steve Berkowitz:
The ruling will end the association’s nationwide limits on education-related benefits athletes can receive for playing college sports.
In upholding lower-court rulings, the justices affirmed an injunction that could fundamentally alter the NCAA’s system of amateurism.
Athletes playing Division I men’s or women’s basketball or Bowl Subdivision football will be able to receive benefits from their schools that include cash or cash-equivalent awards based on academics or graduation.
Among the other benefits that schools also can offer are scholarships to complete undergraduate or graduate degrees at any school and paid internships after athletes have completed their collegiate sports eligibility.
Schools will not be required to provide these types of benefits, and conferences can impose prohibitions on certain benefits if their member schools so choose. However, conferences cannot act in concert. So, if a conference chooses to limit or prevent certain benefits, it risks giving a competitive advantage to other conferences.
The ruling was unanimous.
In an opinion, Justice Neil Forsuch wrote, “the lower courts’ rulings left in place the NCAA’s ability to “forbid in-kind benefits unrelated to a student’s actual education.”