National Collegiate Athletic Association |
The NCAA News - News & FeaturesSeptember 23, 1996Court rules schools not party to caseThe 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled September 17 that a federal judge erred in requiring NCAA Division I public institutions to provide salary and budget information as part of the damages phase of a lawsuit involving the Association's restricted-earnings coach legislation.At a hearing in March, U. S. District Judge Kathryn H. Vratil ordered the NCAA to provide salary information requested by the plaintiffs to help determine damages in the case, which involves NCAA legislation that limited the pay of certain assistant coaches to $16,000 annually. When the NCAA replied that it had provided all such information that it had available, Vratil in May ordered the Association to gather it from the membership, which she declared to be "real parties in interest" to the case. Public universities from six states appealed to the 10th Circuit, however, claiming that they are not a parties to the suit and that they are entitled to 11th Amendment immunity. The appeals court agreed. An NCAA appeal on the merits of the overall case is still pending.
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