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Thursday, December 17, 2020

What the decision will be is up in the air

From Inside Higher Ed: The Supreme Court of the United States will hear arguments about whether National Collegiate Athletic Association rules that cap the amount of financial aid athletes receive from colleges violate federal antitrust law, the court announced Wednesday.

The NCAA and some of the nation’s top Division I athletic conferences petitioned the Supreme Court in October to reverse a California federal appeals court decision, in which a panel of judges struck down limitations on athletes’ education-related aid set by the association and some conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision, in which the nation's top football programs compete.

NCAA bylaws allow athletes to be paid by institutions up to the cost of attendance, including tuition, room and board, course materials, and other miscellaneous college-related expenses, according to the petition filed Oct. 15. Rules also allow students access to some associationwide funds, awards for academic achievement, and Pell Grants for students in need, the petition said.

The decision by the Supreme Court to review the case means that the justices are ready to address how much legal leeway the NCAA should have to develop its own set of rules for intercollegiate sports competition, said Stephen Kastenberg, a lawyer who specializes in antitrust law at Ballard Spahr. The Supreme Court previously declined in 2016 to hear a similar case to expand education-related aid for athletes...

The case will be heard by the Supreme Court in the new year, and a ruling is expected by the end of June 2021.

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