NCAA Wins Reversal in Antitrust Challenge to Eligibility Rules

A University of Wisconsin football player’s claims that an NCAA eligibility rule violates antitrust law were rejected Wednesday by a split appellate panel, which reversed a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the eligibility limits against him.

US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Judge Amy St. Eve wrote that Nyzier Fourqurean didn’t adequately define the relevant market or show that his exclusion from Division I football would have anticompetitive effects.

To succeed, he would’ve had to show that the NCAA’s “five-year rule"—which holds that athletes can only compete in four out of five college years—makes it more ...