Former West Virginia football player Shawne Alston is the latest former student-athlete to sue the NCAA. Alston filed suit against the NCAA and college football's five major conferences on Wednesday, claiming they violated antitrust laws by agreeing to cap the value of an athletic scholarship at less than the actual cost of attending school.
Alston, a running back for West Virginia from 2009-12, says in the lawsuit that he had to take out a $5,500 loan to cover the difference between his scholarship and actual cost of attendance. The lawsuit says if a free-market existed in major-college football, cost of attendance, and possibly more, would be included in the scholarship.
Alston is listed as the suit's only plaintiff, but the suit seeks to represent all scholarship football players who played in the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC since February 2010.
According to the Associated Press, "attorneys Steve Berman and Bruce Simon, who have been involved in cases challenging the NCAA's ability to sell college athletes' likeness to video-game makers, filed the proposed class-action lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco."
"The NCAA and Power Conference Defendants have studied and acknowledged that a so-called 'full ride' scholarship does not cover the full cost of attending school," the lawsuit says. "Athletes are often a few thousand dollars short for the typical expenses of a student. These costs include money for gas, food, and other necessities. While players scrimp, coaches and universities most certainly do not. The average salary for major college football coaches is over $2 million, with some coaches earning over $7 million."
The NCAA's legal team responded with a statement saying they are evaluating the case.
Recent NCAA Lawsuit Coverage:
- Judge Sends O'Bannon Class Action Against NCAA to Trial
- Union Hearing: Some Players Take Northwestern's Side
- Northwestern Football Players Intend to Unionize
