NCAA President Myles Brand has said he supports an increase in athletic financial-aid packages by as much as $3,000. But Christianson said that Brand's opinion notwithstanding, member institutions "clearly have the right to set these kinds of limits, and they've been set."
The lawsuit is an outgrowth of an ongoing campaign by athletes, including former UCLA football player Ramogi Huma, who are pushing the NCAA to modify its financial aid rules.
"We've made some progress over the years, but the NCAA has not moved far enough or fast enough," said Huma, who is not a direct party to the suit. "We still have athletes without basic protections, so now is the time to act."
Ellen Staurowsky, a professor of sport management and media at Ithaca College in New York, described the lawsuit as "a very important case" for current and former college athletes. "They've made a number of good-faith attempts to communicate the message to the decision-makers in the NCAA," Staurowsky said. "But they've not received a hearing."
The lawsuit seeks "fundamental fairness," Staurowsky said. "There should be no gap between the athlete's need and what the scholarship is supposed to provide. It's about delivering what athletes have been told they can expect."
But Stephen Greyser, a professor at Harvard University who monitors sports issues, suggested that the cap serves the interests of many NCAA member institutions.
"It is one of the NCAA's many efforts to put a cap on the armaments race among colleges with the money and inclination to use it" when it comes to recruiting the best athletes, Greyser said. Allowing colleges to spend more than the cap could create a "competitive disadvantage" for colleges that lack deep financial pockets or the inclination to match bigger spenders, Greyser said.
If the three players succeed, the lawsuit would benefit current athletes in NCAA Division I-A football, as well as athletes who play for major college men's basketball teams. The complaint also would cover athletes who played in the last four years.
