College Sports Law Blog

The NCAA Committee on Infractions (“Committee”) recently issued its findings and found that Wingate University (“WU”) committed major violations of NCAA legislation. The violations in this case center on the former head women’s basketball coach. She knowingly committed violations of the extra benefit legislation when she provided a total of $160.00 on seven separate occasions to four student-athletes. Further, she provided another student-athlete (“student-athlete 1”) with prescription drugs at no charge. The former head coach also committed a violation of recruiting legislation when she paid half of the enrollment deposit fee for student-athlete 1 while she was still a prospect. After the investigation concluded the case was submitted to the Committee through the summary disposition process, which is an alternative to a formal hearing before the Committee that may be utilized when the NCAA enforcement staff, the member institution, and involved individuals agree to the facts of an infractions case and that those facts constitute major violations of NCAA legislation.

The NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee (“Committee”) recently reviewed the Committee on Infractions’ (“COI”) decision relating to the University of Central Florida (“UCF”). COI found that UCF violated multiple NCAA bylaws governing recruiting, impermissible benefits and recruiting inducements, and lack of institutional control. COI, therefore, issued substantial penalties including a postseason ban for the UCF football team. A more thorough analysis of COI’s decision can be found here.

 A New York judge has dismissed a NBA security guard's lawsuit against University of Connecticut head women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma.   The court dismissed the case by stating the alleged conduct did not occur in New York.  The NBA security guard claims Auriemma made sexual advances towards her during the London Olympic Games.  Counsel for the NBA security guard has indicated an appeal will be filed.  More about the lawsuit can be found here.

Without playing a game in the Big East Conference, Boise State University is asking a court to allow it to exit the conference without paying a $5 million exit fee.  Boise State has filed a lawsuit in Boise, Idaho arguing that the Big East Conference no longer exists (soon to be known as American Athletic Conference).  As such, Boise State seeks a declaration that they are not liable and should not be required to pay the exit fee.

Judge Thomas Gavin has ruled that Mike McQueary's whistleblower and defamation lawsuit against Penn State can move forward.  The court ruled that McQueary showed Penn State's conduct was sufficiently outrageous to allow the case to continue.  More information on McQueary's case can be found here.

On April 6, 2013, the University of Miami School of Law is hosting its 16th Annual Entertainment and Sports Law Symposium.  I will be speaking on the NCAA Amateurism panel.  If you are in the area, please come by for a great discussion on relevant issues in sports and entertainment law.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions (“Committee”) recently issued its findings and found that Saint Mary’s College of California (“SMC”) committed major violations of NCAA legislation. Included in the case were allegations of intentional violations of NCAA bylaws concerning impermissible recruiting inducements provided to prospective student-athletes and unethical conduct on the part of a then assistant men’s basketball coach who later became the director of men’s basketball operations (“former assistant coach”), as well as extra benefits, a failure to promote an atmosphere for compliance and a failure to monitor by the head men’s basketball coach (“head coach”).

Whether cheerleading is a sport was recently back before the courts.  Again, United States District Court Judge Stefan R. Underhill has ruled that competitive cheerleading has not developed enough to be considered a college sport for Title IX purposes and, thus, Judge Underhill ordered Quinnipiac to keep the women’s volleyball team and create a compliance plan.  Since previous rulings in the case, the cheerleading team has been renamed the acrobatics and tumbling team and two organizations have created more cohesive rules of competition and a better championship format.  Although impressed by the changes, Judge Underhill stopped short of believing that cheerleading has evolved enough to be considered a sport for Title IX purposes.  Judge Underhill pointed out that acrobatics and tumbling is not recognized by the NCAA as a sport or an emerging sport.  Additionally, he stated “acro lacks what every other varsity men’s team sponsored by Quinnipiac enjoys: the chance to participate in an NCAA-sponsored championship.”  More information on previously rulings can be found here.

As previously discussed, New Jersey has sought to allow for legalized betting on sporting events, which drew the ire of the four major sports leagues and the NCAA and ultimately resulted in litigation.  New Jersey argued that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (“PASPA”) is unconstitutional.  PASPA is a law that prohibits legal sports gambling in every state other than Nevada, Oregon, Delaware, and Montana.  U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp upheld PASPA and stated “judicial intervention is generally unwarranted no matter how unwise a court considers a policy decision of the legislative branch.  As such, to the extent the people of New Jersey disagree with PASPA, their remedy is not through passage of a state law or through the judiciary, but through the repeal or amendment of PASPA in Congress.”  New Jersey has announced that it will appeal the decision of the United States District Court.  The NCAA has announced that it will no longer ban NCAA championship events in New Jersey.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions (“Committee”) recently issued its findings and found that the University of Southern Mississippi (“USM”) committed major violations of NCAA legislation. The major infractions at issue involved the men’s tennis program and including intentional violations of NCAA bylaws concerning extra benefits, the principle of cooperation in investigations, as we as unethical conduct by coaches in the institution’s men’s tennis program over a two-year period beginning in January 2008 through May 2010.