NCAA defends player eligibility cap in US appeals court

By Mike Scarcella

May 28 (Reuters) - The National Collegiate Athletic Association asked a U.S. appeals panel on Wednesday to strike down a court ruling that the organization warned could erode distinctions between student and professional athletes.

Attorney Rakesh Kilaru, arguing for the NCAA, urged the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse a February decision that allowed Wisconsin University football player Nyzier Fourqurean to keep playing beyond his fourth year of eligibility.

Under the NCAA's so-called five-year rule, athletes are eligible to compete in no more than four seasons within five years of having enrolled in college.

“Ensuring that college sports are played by college athletes is the differentiating factor between college and professional sports,” Kilaru told the three-judge court panel. “Eligibility rules further that objective.”

Fourqurean’s lawsuit is part of a growing number of legal challenges that seek to loosen player eligibility rules, which could allow some athletes to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars or more in compensation for the commercial use of their names, images and likenesses.

The NCAA and a lawyer for Fourqurean did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The 7th Circuit panel judges expressed concern about the scope of what a ruling against the NCAA might look like.

“Where do we draw the line?” Circuit Judge Amy St. Eve said. She asked whether a student might be allowed to play sports for seven years, after they complete undergraduate work and enroll in a law school.

Fourqurean’s attorney, Michael Crooks, said his client’s case seeks “meaningful exceptions” to the NCAA's five-year rule, and not to overthrow the limit entirely.

In a court filing, the NCAA said the trial judge’s decision for Fourqurean has prompted other student-athletes to file their own cases, and that more lawsuits are likely.

The NCAA has also appealed a federal judge’s ruling in favor of an athlete in a lawsuit in New Jersey. The order in April said the NCAA cannot enforce the five-year rule against a football player for Rutgers.

The case is Fourqurean v. National Collegiate Athletic Association , 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 25-1187.

For Fourqurean: Michael Crooks of von Briesen & Roper

For NCAA: Rakesh Kilaru of Wilkinson Stekloff

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