National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2003
« back to 2003 | Back to NCAA News Archive Index
|
The NCAA News
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit has granted the NCAA's request for a stay of an earlier district court ruling against the "two-in-four" rule regarding participation in certified contests.
The 6th Circuit ruling stays a July 28 decision from U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. and keeps the two-in-four rule in place while the case is heard on appeal. Shortly after the NCAA was granted its stay, the plaintiffs in the case -- Worldwide Basketball and Sports Tours, Inc.; Sports Promotions, LLC; and Sports Tours International -- filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Supreme Court to vacate the stay. However, Justice John Paul Stevens, the U.S. Supreme Court justice assigned to review such matters arising in the 6th Circuit, denied the motion.
In July, Judge Sargus had granted the plaintiffs a permanent injunction that would prevent the NCAA from enforcing the rule allowing Division I institutions to participate in certified basketball contests no more than twice every four years. The NCAA filed -- and Sargus denied -- the NCAA's motion for a stay, but the NCAA's subsequent request for one to the 6th Circuit was successful.
Of note is that one of the criteria for granting the stay was for the NCAA to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits of the case. While the 6th Circuit decision in no way guarantees the ultimate result, the three judges who granted the stay believed the NCAA had demonstrated that likelihood of success. However, those three judges will not necessarily be the three who will hear the case on appeal. The three-judge appeal panel will be drawn from the 16 active judges on the court, plus retired judges and district court judges sitting by designation to make up enough panels to hear all the court's cases.
If Justice Stevens denies the plaintiffs' emergency motion to vacate the stay, the two-in-four rule would remain in effect until the case is decided, which could be as early as this winter since the 6th Circuit has expedited the case.
The two-in-four issue has been complicated for Division I institutions, since this is the time of year most schools publish their final basketball schedules. However, the NCAA has been informing members since the July ruling from Sargus of its intent to seek a stay.
Before Sargus' July decision, schools were operating under a decision Sargus issued in July 2002 that denied the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction and held their request for a permanent injunction in abeyance. At that time, Sargus indicated his desire for the rule to play out through years three and four before determining whether it did in fact cause a financial loss, as plaintiffs claimed.
Thus, schools began completing their 2003-04 schedules under the impression that the two-in-four rule would be in place. After Sargus' latest decision, however, and after he denied the NCAA's request for a stay initially, schools were free at that point to seek scheduling options.
"However, we advised conference offices and members institutions to wait until the appellate court rendered its decision," said the NCAA's Steve Mallonee, associate chief of staff for Division I. "And if schools did enter into an agreement with an event, we advised them to make sure the contract would be void if the appellate court granted the stay."
Mallonee also said the plaintiffs in the case represented to the court that if the stay was granted, institutions would have a legal right to withdraw from any event that would place them in violation of the two-in-four rule.
© 2010 The National Collegiate Athletic Association
Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy