Under an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department, the National Collegiate Athletic Association has agreed to stop restricting athletes’ rights to remain eligible to compete when they transfer from one institution to another.
A consent decree filed in federal court by the federal agency would, if approved by a judge, bar the NCAA from limiting players’ right to compete immediately if they switch colleges. The agreement would invalidate the sports governing body’s existing rule and prohibit it from adopting any other such limitation.
The agreement would also require the association to give an additional year of eligibility to some athletes who were deemed ineligible because of the policy.
The association’s policies were challenged in federal court by attorneys general in 10 states and the District of Columbia, spurred in part by situations like this one in North Carolina.
“Free from anticompetitive rules that unfairly limit their mobility, Division I college athletes will now be able to choose the institutions that best meet their academic, personal and professional development needs,” Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said in a news release. “This resolution is a testament to the benefits of federal and state enforcers working together to ensure free markets and fair competition for all Americans.”
This is just one of numerous legal and political challenges the NCAA is facing.
