National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma (1983)
- Docket
- 83-271
- Decided
- 1983-01-01
Summary
Question: Does the NCAA plan for televised football games impose a restraint on the free market and thus violate the Sherman Act? Conclusion: Yes. Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for a 7-2 majority, held that the NCAA plan creates a structure in which the market cannot be responsive to viewer demands in terms of price and output. Since the viewers of college football games can be defined as a distinct market, a plan that places the NCAA in complete control of the broadcasts that reach this market creates the type of monopoly that the Sherman Act was meant to prevent. By limiting the number of live broadcasts, the Court found that the NCAA was attempting to artificially increase the value of live tickets, in the same way that a monopolist seeks to manipulate the market by limiting output. In his dissent, Justice Byron R. White argued that the Court erred by treating the NCAA as a purely commercial and profit-oriented organization. Because the NCAA is uniquely linked to both amateur athletics and higher education, it has been allowed a great deal of leeway in regulation that would be condemned in a purely business environment. He further argued that the NCAA plan “reflects the NCAA’s fundamental policy of preserving amateurism and integrating athletics and education.” Justice William H. Rehnquist joined Justice White in the dissent.