A federal judge in California heard objections Monday during a final approval hearing on the $2.8 billion agreement that aims to settle three antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA and five major college conferences. If approved, the settlement would allow schools to begin directly paying athletes starting July 1, but a final decision on the settlement has not yet been made.
U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken declined to make a final ruling from the bench Monday, with the hearing in Oakland, Calif., wrapping up just over an hour before the NCAA men’s national championship game tipped off in San Antonio. Wilken raised several questions related to the objections, but she also expressed optimism for eventual approval if those questions can be addressed.
“Basically, I think it is a good settlement — don’t quote me,” said Wilken. “I think it is worth pursuing and I think some of these things could be fixed if people tried to fix them, and that it would be worth their while to try to fix them.”
Lawyers representing both sides of the settlement — the plaintiff class representatives, and the NCAA and power conference defendants — agreed to consider Wilken’s directives and respond to the court in one week. Objectors will have an additional day to respond as…
