Suit alleges NCAA policy exploits walk-on players
SEATTLE -- A former University of Washington football player is suing the NCAA, claiming the organization is violating antitrust laws by limiting the number of scholarships that can be awarded.
Andy Carroll, a wide receiver and special teams player who graduated in 2000, filed a proposed class-action lawsuit in federal court Wednesday. He claims that he was led to believe he had a chance at receiving a scholarship when he was a walk-on but was later told none were available.
"The core contention is that the NCAA and its members, by agreeing to restrict the number of scholarships, violated our nation's antitrust laws, which expressly prohibit this type of restraint," his attorney, Steve Berman, said in a news release.
The NCAA limits Division I-A football teams to 85 scholarship players.
The lawsuit seeks to end the restriction on the number of football scholarships a Division I-A school can grant, and seeks money for walk-ons it contends were harmed by the policy.
If class-action status is granted, the lawsuit would represent all football players on the rosters of Division I-A schools in the past four years who did not receive scholarships.
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