The U.S. Justice Department joined a civil antitrust lawsuit alongside 10 states and the District of Columbia against the NCAA's Transfer Eligibility Rule.
The lawsuit alleges that the NCAA unreasonably restricts college athletes' freedom to transfer between academic institutions, limiting their eligibility to participate in intercollegiate contests if they transfer more than once during their college careers.
The restrictions are claimed to deter transfers, thereby denying athletes educational opportunities.
The lawsuit was originally filed by the states of Ohio, Colorado, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia in the Northern District of West Virginia.
A temporary restraining order against the NCAA's Transfer Eligibility Rule was granted, with the court finding it likely violates Section 1 of the Sherman Act.
The amended complaint adds the United States, along with the states of Minnesota, Mississippi, and Virginia, and the District of Columbia as co-plaintiffs.
The DOJ emphasizes that college athletes should freely choose institutions that meet their academic, personal, and professional development needs without anticompetitive restrictions.
The one-time-transfer rule is alleged to unreasonably restrain competition in athletic services in men’s and women’s Division I basketball and Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football, as well as in all other men’s and women’s Division I sports.
College athletes who transfer more than once are forced to sit out for an entire season before they are eligible to compete in NCAA athletic competitions at their new school.
This is the first time the federal government has joined a state-led case against the NCAA, although federal antitrust prosecutors have historically had the NCAA on their radar, supporting college athletes in private cases.