CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A federal lawsuit filed by attorneys general from Ohio and six other states alleges the NCAA’s transfer rule for college athletes violates antitrust law.
The lawsuit filed in West Virginia challenges the NCAA’s authority to impose a one-year delay in the eligibility of certain athletes who transfer. The suit says the rule “unjustifiably” restrains these athletes’ ability to engage in the market for their labor.
NCAA rules allow underclassmen to transfer once without having to sit out a year. Any additional transfer as an undergraduate would require a waiver from the NCAA for the athlete to compete immediately, which Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost says is enforced unfairly.
“The decisions seem to be all over the board, seem to be arbitrary, and this just speaks to the collusive and anti-competitive nature of the NCAA’s decision-making,” he said at a news conference Thursday.
The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order against the NCAA from enforcing the transfer rule.
The complaint alleges requiring athletes to sit can mean lost potential earnings from endorsement deals with their name, image and likeness (NIL) or professional careers. It points to exposure from competing in national broadcasts, noting: “One game can take a college athlete from a local fan favorite to a household name.”
Yost cited University of Cincinnati basketball player Aziz Bandaogo, who was eventually granted his waiver request, as an example of an athlete who could have been harmed by the enforcement of the rule.
The states seek a temporary restraining order against the NCAA from enforcing the transfer rule.
In addition to Ohio and West Virginia, other states involved are Colorado, Illinois, New York, North Carolina and Tennessee.