Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Former Athletes in Dispute with NCAA

The ruling was made in unanimous fashion, possibly paving the way for athletes on college campuses to obtain greater opportunity for education-related compensation

Monday morning marked a big victory for college athletes across the country as the United State Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of a group of former college athletes who disputed with the NCAA over rules limiting certain compensation.

SCOTUS ruled in a 9-0 vote that the NCAA limits on educated-based benefits that colleges can offer to athletes cannot be enforced by the association. Benefits like laptops provided for educational purposes as well as paid graduate fellowships were among the benefits cited in the argument.

Currently under the NCAA's rules, athletes cannot be paid nor can scholarship money exceed the amount of the cost to attend the school. Former athletes, including former West Virginia football player Shawne Alston, argued that these rules regarding education-based compensation violated federal antitrust laws designed to promote competition.

The NCAA defended its rules, saying that they were necessary to preserve the amateurism of college athletics.

While the ruling from SCOTUS does not mean that athletes can now be paid by colleges, it does go a long way to promote the ever-shifting nature of amateurism in college athletics. On July 1, multiple states' laws regarding Name, Image and Likeness will go into affect, allowing athletes to sign contracts with companies and earn a dollar figure for their association with their brand.

The ruling will, however, help determine whether schools can offer education-based funds to athletes such as graduate scholarships, study abroad, internships, tutoring and other amenities that normal students can participate in.

You can read the full SCOTUS decision in its entirety here.

UPDATE: Following the news of the Supreme Court's ruling on Monday morning, Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey released a statement detailing his thoughts on the ruling.

"The Supreme Court's opinion today in the Alston case provides clarity as we move forward to provide additional educationally-related benefits to student-athletes," Sankey's statement reads. "What also is clear is the need for the continuing evaluation of the college model consistent with the Court's decision and message.

"Our next step is to engage with our member institutions to consider the implications of the opinion delivered today by the Court and to continue our tradition of providing superior educational and competitive opportunities while effectively supporting our student-athletes."