College Athletes File Class Action Against NCAA Challenging Updated Eligibility Rules That Deny Fifth Year of Competition
Lawsuit alleges NCAA's updated five-year eligibility rules unlawfully strip athletes of earning potential, educational advancement, and athletic career opportunities
A group of NCAA Division I college athletes have filed a federal class action lawsuit against the NCAA, alleging its updated eligibility rules unlawfully deny thousands of athletes a fifth season of competition while providing additional eligibility opportunities to other athletes. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
Earlier this summer, the NCAA adopted an updated five-year eligibility rule allowing college athletes to compete for five seasons. The lawsuit alleges that the NCAA declined to extend those same opportunities to athletes who had completed four seasons of eligibility before the rule update, depriving them of an additional year to compete, pursue undergraduate and graduate education, and earn newly won rights to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) compensation.
"These athletes aren't asking for special treatment," said Rob Shelquist, a partner at Cuneo Gilbert Flannery & LaDuca, LLP. "They're asking to not be singled out and excluded from the NCAA’s eligibility framework. The NCAA updated the rules but refused to apply them only to the very group that was most immediately affected. If the NCAA has determined that five years of eligibility is the fair rule for college athletes, then athletes who would still be eligible but for completing four years of eligibility should not be deprived of the same educational, athletic, and NIL opportunities."
The named plaintiffs represent a broad cross-section of athletes from across the country and multiple sports, including men's and women's basketball, baseball, and track and field. They include Cade Tyson (University of Minnesota), Brock Wisne (University of Northern Colorado), Anthony Johnson (Arizona State University), Louie Jordan (Radford University), Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro (California State University), Isaiah Jones (University of South Florida), Aidan Shaw (Boston College), Dimond Loosli (Penn State University), Jake Morell (Seattle University), Aislin Malcolm (Robert Morris University), and Abigail Jefferies (Long Island University). The complaint alleges the NCAA's updated rules arbitrarily distinguish between athletes based solely on when they completed four years of eligibility, while extending additional eligibility opportunities to other athletes under the revised rules.
"College athletes have a limited number of opportunities to compete," said Christian Hudson, a partner at Cuneo Gilbert Flannery & LaDuca, LLP. "When the NCAA updated its eligibility rules but excluded this group of athletes, it took away a season that could change the trajectory of their athletic careers and academic plans."
The complaint alleges claims under the Sherman Act and for breach of contract and seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, damages, and class-wide remedies.
The lawsuit is being led by Cuneo Gilbert Flannery & LaDuca, LLP, including Partners Rob Shelquist and Christian Hudson. The litigation team also includes attorneys Robert Boland, Diana Florence, and Frank Hawkins of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP; Bruce Braley, Alex Wilschke, Brian Aleinikoff, and Adrian Johnson of Leventhal Puga Braley P.C.; Elliot Abrams of Cheshire Parker Schneider & Abrams, PLLC; J. Barton Goplerud of Shindler, Anderson, Goplerud & Weese, P.C.; and C. Peter Goplerud III of National Litigation Law Group.