Tennessee and Virginia Win Preliminary Injunction against NCAA Granting New Rights for NIL Collectives
Things are changing fast in the NIL space. That statement remained consistent on Friday afternoon, with federal judges ruling in favor of Tennessee and Virginia in their case against the NCAA.
With the ruling, booster-funded NIL collectives in Tennessee and Virginia can now communicate with high school recruits and transfer portal players, giving universities in the states a massive leg up on the competition.
With the attorneys generals of Tennessee and Virginia filing a lawsuit against the NCAA concerning NIL rules and regulations, Judge Clifton Corker granted a preliminary ruling in the case, which prohibits the NCAA from enforcing NIL laws in each state.
The hearing began on February 13th in the Eastern District Court of Tennessee in Greenville, Tennessee. The hearing reportedly took place over the span of one hour and included an array of NCAA attorneys failing to present clear and concise reasons that booster-funded NIL Collectives should not be able to contact potential commits through both high school recruiting and the transfer portal.
“For the reasons provided herein, Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction is GRANTED,” Coker wrote in his conclusion. “It is hereby ORDERED that, effective immediately, Defendant NCAA; its servants, agents, and employees; and all persons in active concert or participation with the NCAA, are restrained and enjoined from enforcing the NCAA Interim NIL Policy, the NCAA Bylaws, or any other authority to the extent such authority prohibits student-athletes from negotiating compensation for NIL with any third-party entity, including but not limited to boosters or a collective of boosters, until a full and final decision on the merits in the instant action.”
With Tennessee and Virginia earning a major win over the NCAA in federal court, the future of name, image, and likeness, looks to be even more unpredictable. The next question to discuss is what happens to universities outside VA and TN. Only time will tell.
