On September 24, 2024, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (“UNLV”) starting quarterback Matt Sluka announced that he would no longer play for the team this year because UNLV had not upheld certain off-the-field promises. Sluka stated in a social media post that: “I committed to UNLV based on certain representations that were made to me,…

In recent years, private equity and other funding sources have been active in numerous industries, in particular healthcare. In light of the fewer restrictions on student-athlete compensation in intercollegiate athletics, National Collegiate Athletic Association conferences and member institutions are looking to private equity and other sources of capital to fund future student athlete compensation, as…

As reported in our prior Alerts (including on June 6, and August 1, 2024), the parties involved in three of the major class action antitrust lawsuits brought against the NCAA: House v. NCAA, Hubbard v. NCAA, and Carter v. NCAA — all from athletes claiming the NCAA violates the Sherman Act, conducted a fairness hearing on September 5,…

Private equity funds have shown an increasing willingness to enter into financial arrangements to fund college athletic departments in exchange for future revenue sharing opportunities in the wake of the House v. NCAA settlement. Private equity offers a life raft to cash-strapped athletic departments seeking to accumulate the financial resources necessary to pay off amounts…

Name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals have unquestionably altered the landscape of collegiate sports and sparked a billion dollar market for student-athletes. This opportunity, however, does not extend equally to all student-athletes. Indeed, international student-athletes are essentially “sidelined” when it comes to many lucrative NIL deals as a result of the restrictions on their ability…

Houston Christian University (“HCU”) recently moved to intervene in the potentially historic antitrust settlement between the NCAA and current and former college athletes. The proposed settlement involves the NCAA, conferences, and member schools paying $2.8 billion to college athletes to resolve alleged antitrust violations related to compensation to the athletes for their name, image, and…

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is suspending enforcement of certain rules against student athletes transferring between NCAA member schools as part of its proposed settlement of antitrust litigation brought by the Department of Justice and various state attorneys general in State of Ohio, et al. v. NCAA, No. 1:23-cv-00100 (N.D.W.V.). The NCAA will no…