Lopiano, Drake Group Suggests NCAA ‘Cannot Survive’ After Scotus Ruling

The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision this week in NCAA v. Alston advanced the interests of college athletes and sent a clear message to the NCAA: enactment by the NCAA of any governance rule that has an economic impact will likely precipitate antitrust scrutiny from the federal courts, according to the Drake Group and Donna Lopiano, President of the organization. “Such a rule could, for example, require internship stipends to reflect a going rate, define “legitimate” academic cash awards, or identify “acceptable” educational benefits (e.g., computers, musical instruments, tutoring assistance, etc.),” she wrote. “Existing rules related to the playing field, including required numbers of teams and scholarships, will presumably face renewed judicial scrutiny.”

“In this environment, the NCAA will have difficulty governing without an antitrust exemption,” added Lopiano, a former athletic director at the University of Texas and current consultant. “Only Congress can grant the exemption, but Congress is loath to do so because for decades, the NCAA has exploited college athletes for institutional gain, allowed coaches, athletic directors, conference commissioners and NCAA leaders to pocket princely (now seven-figure) salaries, enabled institutions to build lavish athlete-only facilities (especially for football), and spent hundreds of millions of dollars to defend itself against lawsuits by athletes.”

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