Why The NCAA Should Settle Claims In House v. NCAA

On January 28, 2008, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) did what at the time was unthinkable, it settled an antitrust class action lawsuit filed by college athletes in White v. NCAA that challenged an NCAA amateurism rule. After all, the NCAA had successfully defended each and every antitrust challenge to its amateurism provisions prior to White.

Yet, the NCAA settled the claims in White not too long after the court certified the case as a class action lawsuit, permitting upwards of 20,000 past and current college athletes to pursue an estimated $300 to $400 million in damages. While the class certification may have operated as a procedural catalyst that prompted the NCAA to resolve the claims prior to trial, it was likely the strength of the claims asserted in White that led the NCAA to press the eject button.