A judge on Tuesday kept in place for now the NCAA’s rules prohibiting name, image and likeness compensation from being used as a recruiting inducement, denying a request for a temporary restraining order by the states of Tennessee and Virginia.
The attorneys general of those states filed a federal antitrust lawsuit in the Eastern District of Tennessee last week that challenged the NCAA’s NIL rules, after it was revealed the University of Tennessee was under investigation by the association for potential infractions.
The states asked for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, saying immediate action was needed to keep the NCAA from standing in the way of recruits monetizing their fame.
The period in which high school football recruits can sign scholarship agreements with schools starts Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Clifton Corker wrote that the states have failed to demonstrate that recruits would be irreparably harmed if the temporary restraining order was not granted.
A preliminary injunction hearing is set for Feb. 13.
“The NCAA fully supports student-athletes profiting from their NIL rights, and the Association looks forward to discussing how member schools and conferences overwhelmingly support the current rules that prohibit tampering and unchecked recruiting contacts,” the NCAA said in a statement.
Corker hinted the NCAA’s victory might be short-lived. He wrote that by banning NIL-related recruiting, schools that compete against one another are engaging in “anticompetitive” actions.