The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) was sued in California federal court on Tuesday in a proposed class action that alleges thousands of current and former student athletes were denied annual cash payments for academic achievement in violation of U.S. antitrust law.
Two former college athletes filed the complaint against the NCAA, which is the governing body for U.S. intercollegiate sports, and a group of its member conferences. The lawsuit alleged an unlawful conspiracy to bar cash awards for academic success.
The lawsuit builds off a U.S. Supreme Court 9-0 ruling in 2021 that said it was illegal for the NCAA to have blocked schools from offering education-related benefits, including an award of up to $5,980 a year to student athletes. More than 50 schools have since started to offer those payments.