Athletes Emerge Victorious in SCOTUS Case Alston v NCAA

On the eve of states enacting Name Image and Likeness laws that will allow NCAA athletes to utilize their platforms for monetary gain, college athletes everywhere can celebrate another win. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of college athletes in the case of Alston v NCAA.

The ruling removes NCAA limitations surrounding education-related benefits such as technology, graduate scholarships and study abroad opportunities. The NCAA cannot prevent schools from offering educational-related benefits, however each athletic conference can still set limits if they choose.

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Schools wanting to entice high level recruits to attend their institution can now choose to offer greater educational-related benefits which the NCAA argued blurred the lines between college and professional sports.

The case was led by former West Virginia football player Shawne Alston, he argued that the NCAA's guidelines on education-related benefits violated federal antitrust laws designed to promote competition.

The NCAA sought immunity from the normal operation of the antitrust laws, which the court ultimately denied. The NCAA had argued that capping the scholarship money colleges can offer at the cost of attending the school was necessary to preserve the amateurism of college athletics.