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Dive Brief:
- The eight Ivy League institutions have violated antitrust laws by not awarding athletic scholarships, according to a class action lawsuit filed Tuesday by current and former Brown University basketball players.
- Athletes allege the Ivy League universities’ arrangement constitutes price fixing. For years, the Ivy League has only provided need-based financial aid to students, including athletes. This deal is illegal and disadvantages athletes who otherwise could have pursued scholarships to cover their tuition and fees, the lawsuit says.
- Without this agreement, the Ivy League institutions would make competing offers for athletic scholarships, the lawsuit alleges.
Dive Insight:
The lawsuit is challenging all of the Ivy League institutions, as well as the Ivy League Council of Presidents, which coordinates their athletics.
The plaintiffs allege the colleges’ restrictions “are no different, as a matter of law” than those struck down in a 2021 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in NCAA v. Alston. The high court found the NCAA had infringed on antitrust laws by profiting off the name, image and likeness of athletes.
