Member colleges of the N.C.A.A. must compensate student-athletes only for the cost of attendance, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on Wednesday in an apparent victory for the college sports establishment as it fights back efforts to expand athletes’ rights.
The ruling upheld a federal judge’s finding last year that the N.C.A.A. “is not above antitrust laws” and that its rules have been too restrictive in maintaining amateurism. But the panel threw out the judge’s proposal that N.C.A.A. members should pay athletes $5,000 per year in deferred compensation, stating that compensation for the cost of attendance was sufficient.