The NCAA has reached a $303 million settlement in an antitrust lawsuit with volunteer college coaches, who alleged the organization engaged in illegal wage-fixing. The settlement, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, is now awaiting judicial approval.
The lawsuit, Ray v. NCAA, represents approximately 7,700 volunteer coaches in Division I sports who were prohibited from being paid for more than 30 years, from 1992 to July 2023. The volunteer coach designation was a workaround for NCAA rules that capped the number of paid assistants a team could have.
Under the proposed settlement, coaches could receive an average of about $39,200 before expenses and fees, with the final amount based on the coach’s school, sport, and years of service.
The agreement marks another multimillion-dollar settlement for the NCAA amid a wave of antitrust litigation challenging its business model. It comes on the heels of the landmark House v. NCAA settlement, which ended the NCAA’s amateurism model and paved the way for revenue sharing with athletes.
The settlement in Ray v. NCAA follows a history of court challenges to the NCAA’s compensation rules and adds to the evolving landscape of college athletics. If approved, it would provide relief to a large group of college coaches and further signal the end of the traditional amateurism era.
The original lawsuit can be viewed here: https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/lgvdqkaodpo/Ray%20et%20al%20v%20NCAA%20settlement%2020251110.pdf
