State of Play: Antitrust and the NCAA

A joint presentation of the CLA Antitrust, UCL and Privacy Section and the Antitrust Law Section of the New York State Bar Association 

Please join us for a spirited discussion of recent antitrust developments impacting the NCAA.  All three of our all-star panelists participated in 2018’s landmark trial in In re: NCAA Grant-in-Aid Cap Antitrust Litigation, in which a class of NCAA Division 1 basketball and football players brought suit under the Sherman Act to challenge NCAA rules limiting the level of financial aid and benefits that student-athletes may receive.  During this webinar, our panel will discuss the past, present, and future of antitrust litigation against the NCAA; the emergence of so-called “NIL” laws in California and other states governing the rights of student-athletes to earn money in connection with their name, image, and likeness; and the potential for federal legislation that could change the antitrust and NIL landscape for the NCAA.

PANELISTS

Jeffrey L. Kessler, Co-Executive Chairman, Winston & Strawn LLP

• Jeffrey focuses his practice on all aspects of antitrust/competition and sports law and served as lead trial counsel for the class in the Grant-in-Aid Litigation.  He has also represented classes of NBA, NFL, MLS, and USWNT players; the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL players associations; and many individual athletes.

Beth Wilkinson, Partner, Wilkinson Walsh

• Beth is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a member of American Law Institute (ALI), and a Legal 500 Leading Trial Lawyer.  She was lead trial counsel for the NCAA in in the Grant-in-Aid Litigation and has also served as lead trial counsel for the NFL in federal antitrust class action litigation.

Daniel A. Rascher, Ph.D., Partner, OSKR, LLC

• Dan is an economist specializing in antitrust, competition analysis, and other economic and finance issues in the sports industry.  He provided trial testimony for the class in the Grant-in-Aid Litigation, and also served as a class expert in the earlier Rock and O’Bannon cases, which respectively challenged NCAA athletics-based scholarship and NIL rules.

MODERATOR

Elizabeth G. McCurrach, Associate, Baker & Hostetler LLP

• Elizabeth is a member of BakerHostetler’s Sports and Entertainment Industry team.  She focuses on litigation and counseling in the sports industry on a wide range of issues.