Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 19/09/2025Importantly, the court did NOT answer this question, merely finding instead that it needs a full post-discovery administrative record to make a ruling here. But this ruling keeps alive a lawsuit that will clearly have major, major impact on college sports. 140
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 19/09/2025Poa argued that the manner by which courts are asked by USCIS to interpret "temporarily and solely" is contradictory: permitting dual roles as "student-athletes" for F-1 visas while precluding it for P-1A visas. She argued that's arbitrary and capricious under the APA. 120
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 19/09/2025So Poa applied for a P-1A visa. She was denied on the basis that P-1A visaholders must be coming to to the US "solely for the purpose of [playing sports]." USCIS regulations hold that student-athletes come for education, not "solely for the purpose of [playing sports]." 220
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 19/09/2025The lawsuit is over a post-NIL gap that exists between F-1 (student) and P-1A ("internationally recognized athletes") visas. Student-athletes have traditionally gotten F-1 visas, but F-1 regulations place significant limitations on holders' abilities to make money in the US. 121
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 19/09/2025Interesting news this morning concerning international college athletes: A Louisiana federal court has **denied** a USCIS motion to dismiss Arizona State basketball player Last-Tear Poa's lawsuit against the agency over the agency denying her petition for a P-1A visa. 🧵 192
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 03/09/2025Just updated the "key dates this month" section of the College Sports Litigation Tracker... it's going to be a big month in the college sports law world! 161
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 12/08/2025The Sixth Circuit has set oral arguments in the NCAA's appeal of the Diego Pavia lawsuit for October 23. Unlike the other eligibility rule appeals (Fourqurean/Elad/Braham), this appeal won't affect Pavia's 2025 playing status. But it'll certainly affect others' moving forward. 001
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 12/08/2025The West Virginia attorney general's office has filed a motion to weigh in on the eligibility lawsuit involving four would-be WVU transfers, supporting the athletes' argument that the challenged eligibility rules violate the Sherman Antitrust Act. 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 11/08/2025SFA states they lack enough athletes to field teams and reinstating them would cost $1 million. They take issue with the court's contention that their budget woes are self-inflicted by their choice to opt into the House settlement. 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 11/08/2025These motions are always kind of funny to me because they're essentially "Hey, we know you ruled this way, but you're wrong and you're going to get overturned on appeal so can we get a stay until that happens?" 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 11/08/2025The Texas AG's office is seeking a stay of the preliminary injunction forcing them to reinstate Stephen F. Austin's women’s beach volleyball, bowling, and golf teams while they appeal the decision to the Fifth Circuit. I'd imagine it's unlikely this gets granted, but we'll see. 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 04/08/2025We have eligibility rule lawsuit #30. This one involves multiple athlete-plaintiffs, all seeking to play football this fall for West Virginia after transferring there this spring. The plaintiffs are Jimmori Robinson, Jeffrey Weimer, Tye Edwards, and Justin Harrington. 221
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 02/08/2025Finally got a chance to dig into the SFA Title IX opinion from last night and this note on the balance of hardships preliminary injunction element... seems impactful. Since I'm fairly sure SFA won't be the only one to cut sports citing increased costs due to the House settlement. 131
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 31/07/2025Eligibility rule lawsuit #29 has been filed. This one is by UNLV DL Tatuo Martinson, who played two years (bookending a cancelled 2020-21 season) at JUCO American River College and three years (including one redshirt year) at UNLV. 101
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 30/07/2025A California federal court has denied UCLA transfer Kaedin Robinson's motion for a TRO, but set a hearing on the injunction for August 18. Of note, the judge is also presiding over U San Diego transfer Jagger Giles's case, and also set a hearing in that case for the same day. 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 28/07/2025Here are the now-certified class definitions for the case. Reese Brantmeier and Maya Joint are the class representatives. 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 28/07/2025A federal court in North Carolina has granted the plaintiffs' motion to certify an injunctive and damages class of Division I tennis players in Brantmeier v. NCAA. The lawsuit challenges the NCAA's ban on tennis players receiving prize money from outside competitions. 141
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 28/07/2025A NJ federal district court has granted Seton Hall's motion for summary judgment against former basketball players Myles Powell and Jasmine Smith, dismissing their tort claims against the university. No opinion filed to the docket yet; I'll link it when it pops up. 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 18/07/2025Ex-Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor's lawsuit against Ohio State, Learfield, the Big Ten, and the NCAA over the purported continued use of his NIL has been denied, with an Ohio federal district court granting the defendants' motions to dismiss. 101
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 17/07/2025So Stephen F. Austin U is trying once again to count cheer and dance teams towards Title IX compliance. We're back to that. I mean, good luck. 122
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 11/07/2025Some House settlement clean up: Judge Wilken has granted class counsel's motion for attorneys' fees, costs, and service awards (for the class reps) while denying MoloLamken's motion for an extention to file for their own attorneys' fees for their work as settlement objectors. 000
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 09/07/2025Another interesting part of this case: Giles was apparently not told he ineligible until he arrived at USD in June. Which, again, shows the confusion over the Pavia waiver. And then USC refused to file for a waiver on his behalf, as "it would surely be denied." (Which is true) 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 09/07/2025Of interest, his college career started with him not on any athletic team; he was at Cal State San Marcos for his freshman year where he didn't play sports, sat out a year, then played two JUCO years and two D1 years. Yet under NCAA rules his clock started in that freshman year. 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 09/07/2025We now have NCAA eligiblity rule lawsuit #26, this time by ex-Idaho State LB and U. San Diego transfer Jagger Giles. 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 04/07/2025All four athletes have at least two years in JUCO, with three (Bellamy, Griffin, and Smith) challenging the Five Year Rule. Lambson is within the Pavia blanket waiver, but -- not initially knowing about it -- signed with an agent and now challenges that rule. 001
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 04/07/2025Eligibility rule lawsuit #25 was just filed. This one has four plaintiffs: Christopher Bellamy, Demarcus Griffin-Taylor, TJ Smith, and Targhee Lambson. Of note, this case is filed by the same lawyers representing Diego Pavia, and in the same court where he won. 110
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 02/07/2025We have a third appeal of the House settlement, this time by two former college wrestlers: Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers/Northwestern -- also competed in the 2024 Olympics) and Ryan Deakin (Northwestern). 120
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 02/07/2025For those interested in these eligibility cases, today's hearing on Nevada WR Cortez Braham's motion for a preliminary injunction will be conducted online, and there's a call-in line for the public to listen in. 000
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 02/07/2025Boyd has also filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to allow him to play in 2025-26 (and find a place for him to do so). 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 02/07/2025Notably, this is our first eligibility lawsuit by a former NAIA player, as Boyd started at Georgetown College. NAIA is included in the Pavia waiver, but the Pavia waiver only applies to athletes still within their five year clocks and Boyd is not. 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 02/07/2025Eligibility lawsuit #24 was filed earlier this week: this one by ex-College of Charleston basketball player Derrin Boyd. He claims he had a $350k NIL offer from Vanderbilt that he would be able to take but for the NCAA's Five Year Clock rule. 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 01/07/2025It appears that San Diego State has reached a settlement in the Title IX litigation filed by ex-SDSU rowing and track-and-field athletes. The case alleged unequal financial aid, unequal treatment, and retaliation. 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 27/06/2025The most mindboggling thing is that you might be saying, "Hey, I read that Johnson screenshot, the magistrate judge said that Osuna decided they were noncommercial!" Not sure where judges got that in their heads. This is the relevant language from Osuna. 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 27/06/2025What I'm surprised by is that this is now yet another case where a judge has aligned with pre-Alston precedent and found that the NCAA's eligibility rules are not commercial, and thus not even subject to the Sherman Act at all. We are clearly in split territory now. 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 27/06/2025University of Montana basketball player Kai Johnson's motion for a preliminary injunction to give him another year of eligibility has been denied. 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 27/06/2025Weird that I hadn't been to a Hawks game yet this season, but I definitely had to come by to see the Oakland Ballers. The B's are such a cool story. (Plus beer belt giveaway!) 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 26/06/2025Follow along with me. (1) It says antitrust won't apply to "athletic conferences"; (2) It includes "any institution of higher education that competes against another institution" within its definition of "athletic conference"; (3) The antitrust immunity isn't limited to sports. 120
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 26/06/2025The funniest thing about the Rand Paul college sports bill proposed today (see attached) is that, by its plain text, it exempts the entire US higher education system from antitrust law. Not just college sports. *All* of higher ed. (Unintentionally, I'm sure) 130
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 22/06/2025Opera in the Park is always a highlight of the Boise summer for me. 🎶🎶 020
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 17/06/2025Finally, the one filed today is from UNLV football's Jack Hasz. His case is similar to Jett Elad's where he'd qualify for the Pavia waiver but for the Five Year clock. He's played two JUCO years and four D1 years, though one JUCO and one D1 year could be seen as redshirt years. 110
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 17/06/2025Also from Friday is a suit from Murray State football player Justice Hill. He's played both basketball and football, which is interesting. His argument is centered around that and his contraction of long COVID that prevented him from playing both sports at the same time. 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 17/06/2025Of note, Walker points out that he asked Miles College to file a waiver request on his behalf, but they say they can't because he's exhausted his eligibility and isn't on the roster. So another attack on the fact that the NCAA doesn't let athletes file their own waiver requests. 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 17/06/2025One of the two filed Friday was by Rylen Walker, a men's basketball player at D2 Miles College. A former JUCO player like Pavia, he challenges the fact that the Pavia blanket waiver has not been applied at the Division 2 level. 100
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 10/06/2025I've been following so many of these eligibility lawsuits... figured I'd go see one of them in person. So I'm headed up to Missoula to attend tomorrow morning's preliminary injunction hearing in University of Montana basketball player Kai Johnson's lawsuit against the NCAA. Fun! 021
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 10/06/2025A follow-up from Judge Wilken on the House settlement: she intends to appoint Magistrate Judge Nathaniel Cousins as a special master to resolve any disputes with the settlement. 121
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 07/06/2025Just released by the new "College Sports Commission": a timeline of how the settlement will be implemented, including key dates for the "designated student-athletes" who will not count towards roster limits. 166
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 07/06/2025She also overrules the Title IX-based objections, finding (1) the objectors cited no authority saying that the damages had to comply with Title IX; and (2) suing revenue sharing distributions over Title IX is still on the table. Which are both fair points, to be honest. 121
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 07/06/2025There's also a *bit* of a warning here to the NCAA/conferences about relying on the settlement as a broader antitrust shield. "Defendants may make these arguments but that does not mean they will be successful." 110
Sam C. Ehrlich @samcehrlich.com · 07/06/2025She is also denying the request for a stay pending appeal, finding (1) the term that provides for implementation of the agreement even if appealed is not unreasonable; and (2) the objectors hadn't met the burden for a stay, i.e., "irreparable" injury from roster cuts. 110