O'Bannon v. National Collegiate Athletic Ass'n

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

CLAUDIA WILKEN, United States District Judge

INTRODUCTION

Competition takes many forms. Although this case raises questions about athletic competition on the football field and the basketball court, it is principally about the rules governing competition in a different arena — namely, the marketplace.

Plaintiffs are a group of current and former college student-athletes. They brought this antitrust class action against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2009 to challenge the association’s rules restricting compensation for *963elite men’s…