The NCAA begins to present its case on Monday, but they might have a tougher hill to climb than many think. An interesting piece from USA Today describes what both sides must accomplish over the final 2 weeks of the trial. Here are a couple of keys---


For instance, the NCAA says the limits make college football and men's basketball distinct from pro sports, and that the limits help keep them more competitively balanced within the NCAA and more popular.

This was one of the areas where Wilken spoke to the NCAA in her April ruling, saying that for the NCAA to "prevail on this issue at trial … (it) will have to present evidence that the challenged restraint promotes a level of competitive balance that (1) contributes to consumer demand for Division I football and basketball and (2) could not be achieved through less restrictive means."


And then there's this---

Another of the NCAA's justifications that received particular attention from Wilken in April was its contention that the limits of what athletes can receive promotes the integration of athletics and education. In her April ruling, Wilken wrote that in order to prove this at trial, the NCAA "must present evidence to show that (1) the ban on student-athlete compensation actually contributes to the integration of education and athletics and (2) the integration of education and athletics enhances competition" among the schools for football and men's basketball players.



http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/col.../10552887/

That may be tough to prove. I haven't observed any competitive balance in Football and Men's basketball. The strongest teams in both sports are pretty much always good and the bottom dwellers are always bottom dwellers.

(06-15-2014 09:22 PM)ChrisLords Wrote:  That may be tough to prove. I haven't observed any competitive balance in Football and Men's basketball. The strongest teams in both sports are pretty much always good and the bottom dwellers are always bottom dwellers.

Agree. If the case really hinges on the items stated on the article, the NCAA is probably going to lose.