On Thursday April 30, the NCAA and a group of the major conferences argued against class certification in the scholarship cap lawsuits, trying to deny their consolidation into one class-action.
The lawsuits, brought by former West Virginia football player Shawne Alston and former Clemson football player Martin Jenkins, claim antitrust violations resulting from the current rules the NCAA imposes on the amount in scholarship aid that schools may offer their student-athletes. The players argue that rules against aid in excess of the cost of attendance limits their ability to market their talent. The players are seeking class certification to represent all Division 1 men’s and women’s basketball players as well as Bowl Subdivision football players.
In order to receive class-certification, the plaintiffs need to show they will fairly and adequately represent the interests of all class members as well as show common questions of law and fact among the designated class members . The NCAA’s recent argument tries to show the class members will not be fairly and adequately represented.
The NCAA argues against class certification because only the most sought after players in the class would receive benefit from the litigation. The less talented players would end up receiving less in aid than they already do. If the plaintiffs were successful, the NCAA argues, schools would allocate their scholarship funds to the most talented players, leaving less available to pay the less talented. Further, if student-athletes are getting paid more than the cost of attendance, they will be more likely to stay in school to play sports, limiting the number of available spots for the less talented players. The NCAA claims the plaintiffs cannot represent the interests of the entire class.
The plaintiffs must respond to the NCAA’s arguments by the 28th, and a hearing on the matter is scheduled for July 23. If the NCAA is successful, the current lawsuits, and any future suits, will progress as separate actions.