The Supreme Court has decided in a 9-0 ruling that the NCAA cannot enforce limits on education-related benefits that colleges offer to student athletes. The ruling on Monday did not decide whether students can be paid salaries. Under current NCAA rules, students cannot be paid, and the scholarship money colleges offer is capped at the cost of attending the school. The NCAA had defended its rules as necessary to preserve the amateur nature of college sports as part of a long-running battle over the issue, but the court sided with former athletes who say limits on education benefits in Division I moneymakers like basketball and football are unenforceable.
For analysis we called up Washington Post sports reporter Ben Strauss, the author of “Indentured: The Inside Story of the Rebellion Against the NCAA.”