Calendar

LITIGATION

Court ruling favors NCAA in 'March Madness' case

A federal district court issued an opinion August 28 upholding "March Madness" as a trademark and finding that Dallas defendants committed trademark infringement and cybersquatting.

The NCAA and the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), through the March Madness Athletic Association, L.L.C. (MMAA), sued Netfire, Inc., and Sports Marketing International, Inc., in spring 2000 because of the defendants' prior registration of the domain name www.marchmadness.com and its use as a commercial Web site exploiting the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship with planned contests and information about the event. Defendants had refused prior requests by the NCAA and IHSA to remove content from the site and turn over the domain name to the MMAA, which holds a number of trademark registrations to the "March Madness" mark.

The court ordered transfer of the domain name to the MMAA and awarded costs as part of the ruling. The court disagreed with the defendants' claim that "March Madness" was generic and not subject to trademark protection.

The MMAA was created by the NCAA and the IHSA in February 2000. The IHSA has titled its boys' and girls' basketball championships "March Madness," and the NCAA has nicknamed its men's and women's basketball championships as "March Madness."

Staff contact: Scott Bearby (sbearby@ncaa.org).

DIVISION I

Vanderbilt announces new athletics structure

Vanderbilt University Chancellor Gordon Gee has announced a major restructuring of the Vanderbilt athletics program that will bring together intercollegiate sports and recreational activities for students in a single department.

In addition, Gee said the university will take a leadership role in the national reform agenda for college sports.

"For too long, college athletics has been segregated from the core mission of the university," Gee said in a September 9 announcement. "As a result, we have created a culture, both on this campus and nationally, that is disconnected from our students, faculty and other constituents, where responsibility is diffuse, the potential for abuse considerable and the costs -- both financial and academic -- unsustainable. Nothing short of a revolution will stop what has become a crisis of conscience and integrity for colleges and universities in this country."

In the most significant change, Vanderbilt will combine the programs and operations of its varsity sports with those of student recreation, intramurals and community sports programs into the new office of student athletics, recreation and wellness. The new office will be responsible for 14 varsity sports, more than 300 varsity student-athletes, 37 club sports with more than 1,000 participants and an active student intramural program.

"This is about students and coaches," Gee said. "We have assembled perhaps the best cadre of coaches in this country. They are dedicated to team success and individual growth, and we will provide them an environment in which they can thrive as members of a vibrant and enthusiastic university community in which they are valued as teachers and mentors."

Director of Athletics Todd Turner has been asked to serve as special assistant to the chancellor for athletics/academic reform. In this role, Turner would focus on advancing a national agenda for intercollegiate athletics reform.