Abstract
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which serves as the multibillion-dollar college athletics industry’s primary governing body, has faced several recent legal challenges to its operations. One particularly prominent challenge projects to result in litigation that will significantly impact college athletics’s future. This article explores the circumstances that led to this precarious position: (1) the NCAA’s recent changes to its longstanding rules prohibiting student-athlete compensation for use of their names, images, and likenesses; (2) several state legislatures’ attempts to provide universities in their states with a competitive advantage by legislating restrictions on the NCAA’s ability to enforce its rules; and (3) the NCAA’s anticipated challenge to these laws’ legality. The article also analyzes the legal authorities relevant to the prospective forthcoming legal battle between the NCAA and states that have sought to limit its authority—the dormant Commerce Clause, the Contract Clause, and the law of private associations. More specifically, the NCAA’s future and legitimacy could be largely affected by two recent Supreme Court decisions – one regarding pig farming regulation and the other divorce decrees’ effects on life insurance policy beneficiary designations. Further, the NCAA’s likely legal challenge comes at a time when the judiciary is increasingly skeptical of the NCAA’s rules, decisions, and legal arguments.
Recommended Citation
Josh Lens, NIL Enforcement Preemption, 2024 ULR 891 (2024).