@samcehrlich

Associate Professor, @BoiseStateCOBE. Ex-lawyer who now writes about college sports law, and finds it neat. I track litigation involving college sports.

 Boise, ID
collegesportslitigationtracker.com
Joined May 2017
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  • Followers6.1K
3.3KMedia
New uNILateral Decisions: @mwalsh88, @Joe_Nickell, and I discuss Ohio governor Mike DeWine's executive order granting all Ohio Class of 2022 athletes immediate eligibility. Can he do that? Should other governors do the same? youtube.com/watch?v=JAz2a5q8…

Can a Governor Override the NCAA? Ohio Just Raised the Stakes

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has entered the NCAA eligibility debate, ...

youtube.com
Sam C. Ehrlich@samcehrlichOct 12
This week's uNILateral Decisions: @mwalsh88, @Joe_Nickell, and I sat down with @gregchickphd of @NILnomics to dig into some of the biggest economic and financial questions in college sports. This was a great episode. Thanks so much to Greg for joining us! youtube.com/watch?v=2i53lygj…
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From Friday: We have our first new case that (in part) tests the Ohio executive order that purports to allow all Class of 2022 athletes eligibility to play this season. The plaintiff is Miami (OH) basketball player Amber Scalia. Super interested to see how this turns out.
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B.J. Rains
@BJRainsOct 24
It just happened again, without a play being run. Had the 2-minute timeout, then Wazzu called time out before the next play and they went to another TV timeout. Just brutal. Killing the flow.
B.J. Rains
@BJRainsOct 24
Gotta love the TV time out, punt, TV time out.
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Sam C. Ehrlich retweeted
Eric Blevins
@EricJBlevinsOct 24
Patterson is a big one in the world of eligibility cases- potentially billions (with a B) of dollars at stake. Trial is set for over 2 years away, but there’s not the same urgency as in most other eligibility cases. That’s because Patterson is no longer seeking extra seasons for the plaintiffs, it now seeks only damages. In other words, the money athletes claim they lost out on because they were denied additional seasons under NCAA rules. Patterson is a class action for potentially thousands of athletes who played from 2020 onward, so IF (big if) the case actually makes it to trial and the athletes win, the award could be enormous.
Mitch Gilfillan
@mitchgilfillanOct 23
To give people an idea how long these cases last before the actual trial, last night the attorneys in Patterson (athletes v. NCAA/P4 conf) submitted a briefing schedule for discovery and a proposed trial date. That trial date…not expected until February 2029 (yes, ‘29).
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Mitch Gilfillan
@mitchgilfillanOct 23
To give people an idea how long these cases last before the actual trial, last night the attorneys in Patterson (athletes v. NCAA/P4 conf) submitted a briefing schedule for discovery and a proposed trial date. That trial date…not expected until February 2029 (yes, ‘29).
Mitch Gilfillan
@mitchgilfillanAug 4
Meanwhile, Patterson v. NCAA is quietly becoming the 2nd most important eligibility case in the country. Today, the NCAA asked the Tennessee federal court to hit pause while the 10th Cir. Court of Appeals sorts out the Colorado injunction case. The athletes’ response? Um, no. ⬇️
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An eye-raising new lawsuit filed this evening: two former and one current NCAA Division III athletes filed suit against the NCAA over Division III rules barring athletic scholarship, claiming that the restriction amounts to illegal price fixing under antitrust law.
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Not defending the suit, but worth noting (given a lot of comments and QTs I'm seeing on this post): this lawsuit if successful would not require D3 schools offer athletic scholarships but instead remove the division-wide ban that does not allow schools to elect to offer them.
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stu durando@studurandoOct 23
Breaking news: Robbie Avila has been granted a temporary restraining order to play college basketball and the ruling also allows SLU to roster him. However, he must appear in court on Nov. 4 for a hearing on his motion for a preliminary injunction.
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Joseph Hoyt
@JoeJHoytOct 23
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders unionize, will begin collective bargaining dallasnews.com/sports/cowboy… via @dallasnews

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders unionize, will begin collective bargaining

The Cowboys recognized the cheerleaders' union after "meaningful discussion" and the parties are set to begin collective bargaining.

dallasnews.com
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Katie Van Dyck@CapitolKVDOct 23
Folks said this was impossible. They're 1099s and can be replaced. Turns out the skeptics were wrong here, just like they're wrong about collective bargaining in college sports. Congratulations, DCC!
Joseph Hoyt
@JoeJHoytOct 23
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders unionize, will begin collective bargaining dallasnews.com/sports/cowboy… via @dallasnews

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders unionize, will begin collective bargaining

The Cowboys recognized the cheerleaders' union after "meaningful discussion" and the parties are set to begin collective bargaining.

dallasnews.com
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Matt Baker@MattBakerCFBOct 23
If you're wondering how litigation between the SEC and LSU officials is going...A recent LSU filing said the SEC negligently supplied/hallucinated citations. SEC just filed something back saying those charges are "baseless, inflammatory, and wholly improper." So not cooling off?
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Reading through the Pinioin/Simpson decision, the federal judge was quite a bit more deferential to the NCAA's role as a rulemaking body for college sports than most courts have been. Bad luck for those two players, and for Providence.
Providence Friars
@PCAthleticsOct 22
A Message From AD Steve Napolillo
Earlier this week, legal counsel for Joseph Pinion and Derek Simpson presented arguments before the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island in support of a temporary restraining order that would permit Joseph and Derek to compete for Providence College during the 2026–2027 men’s basketball season. Providence College Athletics is deeply disappointed by today’s ruling. We believe Joseph and Derek’s case is compelling and is supported by decisions issued in other states where Big East member institutions compete. It is important to note that Joseph and Derek are the only men’s basketball Big East student-athletes who sought temporary restraining orders and did not receive their TRO at their initial ruling. After consulting with their legal counsel, Joseph and Derek are proceeding with the next steps in the legal process, including seeking a preliminary injunction. As that process continues, Providence College remains fully supportive of these two student-athletes.

ALT Earlier this week, legal counsel for Joseph Pinion and Derek Simpson presented arguments before the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island in support of a temporary restraining order that would permit Joseph and Derek to compete for Providence College during the 2026–2027 men’s basketball season. Providence College Athletics is deeply disappointed by today’s ruling. We believe Joseph and Derek’s case is compelling and is supported by decisions issued in other states where Big East member institutions compete. It is important to note that Joseph and Derek are the only men’s basketball Big East student-athletes who sought temporary restraining orders and did not receive their TRO at their initial ruling. After consulting with their legal counsel, Joseph and Derek are proceeding with the next steps in the legal process, including seeking a preliminary injunction. As that process continues, Providence College remains fully supportive of these two student-athletes.

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Along these lines, I noticed that this court echoed Kentucky in comparing the rules to legislation instead of a contract, finding the NCAA's reference to "Rhode Island law’s 'well-settled principle' that statutes are implemented prospectively, not retroactively" persuasive.
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As Providence's statement correctly notes, this is a TRO ruling, not an injunction ruling. The latter will come later, with more evidence -- which may help the antitrust claim (denied for lack of evidence). But the contract issues here don't seem solvable with more evidence.
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They’re going to use this to lock the ACC and Big 12 out of major nonconference games, and then use “weak nonconference” as justification to put 18 Big Ten and SEC teams into the 24-team playoff.
Zach Barnett
@zach_barnettOct 22
Fox's Joel Klatt told @dfwticket today that an SEC-B1G scheduling agreement will be announced "almost immediately" once the CFP expands to 24. footballscoop.com/2026/10/21…

Joel Klatt: SEC-Big Ten scheduling agreement expected once CFP expands to 24

Like it or not, the College Football Playoff is expected to expand to 24 teams beginning with the 2027 season.Once that happens, Fox college football analyst Joel Klatt expects the SEC and Big Ten to

footballscoop.com
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Herd Bros
@TheCFBAdvocateOct 22
Shehan Jeyarajah
@ShehanJeyarajahOct 22
They’re going to use this to lock the ACC and Big 12 out of major nonconference games, and then use “weak nonconference” as justification to put 18 Big Ten and SEC teams into the 24-team playoff.
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Some pretty mind-blowing numbers from an NCAA brief filed today (in the Daley case in Indiana).
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Conor Fitzpatrick@CTFitzpatrickOct 21
College sports aren’t immune from the First Amendment. Reporters have every right to stand on a public sidewalk and seek comment from players and coaches. Maryland football’s understanding of the First Amendment is as bad as its run defense, which is saying something.
Nolan Rogalski@NolanRogalskiOct 21
For @testudotimes, @JudeWilkenfeld and I were outside Jones-Hill House trying to get players to comment. An athletics staffer took pictures of us, and a police dispatch was called for suspicious activity; a cop and 2 cop cars pulled up, and officers ID’d us and asked us to leave.
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We recorded before the NCAA's lawsuit against DeWine challenging the order... so this may be something of a two-parter. 😉
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Front Office Sports
@FOSOct 21
Exclusive: Wealthy backers of the Protect College Sports Act quietly rounded up support from major conservative political figures, a DraftKings executive, university presidents, and conference commissioners. FOS obtained the emails revealing a network with deep political ties.

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