Future of Division III

[Kuiper]

Here's a story from Sportico on the lawsuit

The named plaintiffs are Jackson Hale, a senior defensive back at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington; Connor Printz, who played basketball at Claremont McKenna College in California from 2020 to 2024; and Chris Jennings, who swam and played lacrosse at the University of Lynchburg in Virginia from 2019 to 2023.

"The Division III prohibition on athletic aid is undeniably a multi-conference agreement in Alston's own taxonomy," the lawsuit states. "Division III schools remain free to differentiate themselves along every dimension that does not fix the price of the labor that sustains the marquee recruiting tools that are their athletic programs."

If successful, the lawsuit could expose the NCAA to billions of dollars in damages, depending on the size of the class certified, the damages period and the court's assessment of any antitrust injury. Approximately 210,000 athletes compete in D-III each year, according to the NCAA, and the plaintiffs are seeking treble damages under Section 4 of the Clayton Antitrust Act.

This might explain the involvement if the Lynchburg alum

In January, the University of Lynchburg reached a negotiated resolution with the NCAA over a "major infractions" case involving $155,325 in "improper" financial aid the school provided its athletes during the 2022-23 academic year. The lawsuit references the matter but does not say whether Jennings was among those who received the aid.

[MCScots2013]

Amen, Brother Ron.

[The Third Division]

Your options for getting paid as an athlete in a division 3 school is to seek an NIL deal, or get an academic/need based scholarship.

Chalking it up to "every athlete should get scholarships" in a division that was created for no athletic scholarships to exist is just absurd.

Like what if having a division of athletics with no athletic scholarships is what's keeping the structure of collegiate athletics afloat?

[Ron Boerger]

Ironically, Connor Prinz of CMS *did* get NIL deals - 90 of them! - despite a career average of 1.3 PPG and 0.8 RPG.

One career start, 16 games played, 70 minutes total in the two seasons he got on the court.  Yeah, you know people would be falling all over themselves to give the dude an athletic scholarship if they only had the chance.

https://cmsathletics.org/sports/mens-basketball/roster/connor-printz/13738
https://x.com/BQuillmanQcast/status/2113818376594178131?s=20

[y_jack_lok]

This is the part that is interesting to me:

Quote
If successful, the lawsuit could expose the NCAA to billions of dollars in damages, depending on the size of the class certified, the damages period and the court's assessment of any antitrust injury. Approximately 210,000 athletes compete in D-III each year, according to the NCAA, and the plaintiffs are seeking treble damages under Section 4 of the Clayton Antitrust Act.

I have to wonder how many actual plaintiffs there are joining the class. If I'm not mistaken, every class action lawsuit needs at least one "named plaintiff". This one has three. It also makes me wonder who is really behind the suit. Were a lot of former and current D3 players sought out by someone with an axe to grind against the NCAA to join the suit and these three guys stepped up to put their names on the lawsuit? Was the possibility of money from a settlement dangled in front of them as an inducement to get them to sign on?

[y_jack_lok]

Here's another article on the lawsuit: https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/division-iii-athletes-antitrust-case-131250732.html