Seven states filed suit in federal court on Thursday, challenging the NCAA’s transfer eligibility rule as an illegal restraint on college athletes under the Sherman Antitrust Act. The NCAA, which ratified a one-time, penalty-free transfer rule in April 2021, still requires multi-time transfer athletes to sit out a year in residence and forgo a season of eligibility unless they are granted a waiver for immediate eligibility.
The complaint argues the multi-time transfer rule is unlawful on the grounds of antitrust and seeks a permanent injunction of the rule. Ohio attorney general Dave Yost, via a spokesperson, also noted that the plaintiffs would be seeking a preliminary injunction via a temporary restraining order. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the northern district of West Virginia, Clarksburg division, and includes Ohio, Colorado, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. If a judge were to grant an injunction, it would likely render any Division I college athletes currently seeking a waiver as immediately eligible to participate.
A potential injunction would apply most directly to men’s and women’s basketball at the moment, but could also have an impact on college football transfers for next season, particularly with the…
