Supreme Court Denies NCAA Request to Pause Ruling on Expanded Benefits

The Supreme Court reportedly denied a request from the NCAA to pause a ruling that will provide additional education-related benefits for student-athletes. 

Dan Murphy of ESPN reported the news Tuesday, noting lead plaintiff attorney Jeffrey Kessler filed a lawsuit on behalf of West Virginia football player Shawne Alston in 2014. Federal judge Claudia Wilken, who is based in California, eventually ruled because of antitrust laws the NCAA could not limit benefits schools provided their athletes as long as those benefits were related to education.

As a result of the Supreme Court's ruling, the NCAA's Division I Council will meet Wednesday to create new rules.

Murphy explained Wilken's decision came in May 2019. That spurred the NCAA to appeal in the Ninth Circuit Court and then ask the Supreme Court to pause the new benefits once it lost that appeal. While the Supreme Court denied that request, the NCAA can still appeal by mid-October.

"As a practical matter, this is great for all athletes," Kessler said. "It's coming. The train has arrived and it's brought terrific new benefits for all these athletes."

The NCAA said it will comply with the latest ruling in the immediate future, which means the Division I Council cannot limit material educational items such as laptops, musical instruments and study-abroad opportunities.

However, it can limit how much money schools provide as rewards for academic achievements. Conferences and schools can put limits on that as well.

Expect the NCAA to eventually make another move, though, as NCAA chief legal officer Donald Remy said, "Given the adverse impact of the Ninth Circuit's decision on college athletics, the legal reasoning of the lower courts' decisions, and the conflict created with other federal circuits, notwithstanding the failure to secure a stay, we will ask the Supreme Court to review the legal errors."