The “Amateur” Division I Athlete Is Becoming a Thing of the Past, so Now What?: Addressing the Action Needed to Preserve Amateurism in College Sports

Authors

Elizabeth Hendrickson, University of Miami School of Law

Abstract

College sports are in a state of logistical chaos. How did we get here? Where do we go next? What does the future of college sports look like? The driving force behind much of this uncertainty is the demise of amateurism at the Division I level of competition. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) has struggled to define what makes a college athlete an “amateur” since its inception. Over time—and under the NCAA’s purported control—the line between amateur and professional athletes has become increasingly blurred. The NCAA’s failure to maintain the amateur model at the Division I level poses a substantial threat to the NCAA in the context of antitrust litigation. Antitrust challenges to the NCAA’s amateurism rules constitute a highly contested topic for all stakeholders of college sports: the players, the coaches, the fans, etc.

This Note explores the loss of amateurism in Division I sports and the resulting scrutiny the NCAA has faced, especially in recent years. Approaching this issue with an antitrust lens, this Note illustrates how the NCAA’s amateurism rules are evaluated by the courts and suggests why a court would no longer find the NCAA’s amateurism defense to antitrust claims viable, at least at the Division I level. Throughout this piece, the Note critiques the NCAA’s responses to the evolving landscape of collegiate sports, thus calling for a new method of oversight to preserve what is left of amateurism. This Note argues that amateurism is still intact at the Division II and III levels of competition, but steps must be taken in the near future to protect these programs and this sense of amateurism from the imminent changes to the college sports enterprise. Accordingly, this Note offers potential solutions to avoid the loss of amateurism and insulate Division II and III programs from impending cost-cutting measures. To conclude, this Note highlights what a loss of amateurism altogether could mean for future NCAA athletes as well as consumers of the college sports product.

Recommended Citation

Elizabeth Hendrickson, The “Amateur” Division I Athlete Is Becoming a Thing of the Past, so Now What?: Addressing the Action Needed to Preserve Amateurism in College Sports, 79 U. Mia. L. Rev. 186 (2024)
Available at: https://repository.law.miami.edu/umlr/vol79/iss1/6