The South Dakota Attorney General filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the NCAA over the proposed $2.8 billion settlement the association and its largest conferences struck earlier this year with plaintiffs in three separate class-action antitrust lawsuits.
In a complaint filed in South Dakota circuit court, AG Marty Jackley, representing South Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota, alleged that in agreeing to resolve House v. NCAA, the governing body breached its contract with its member institutions, violated its fiduciary duty and went against the precepts of its own constitution.
Additionally, the lawsuit claims the prospective House settlement “inequitably distributes” money between male and female athletes as part of its revenue-sharing provisions, thus pushing schools into new liability for violating Title IX.
“As a former college student-athlete, I believe strongly in a system that presents our athletes with opportunities to compete and treats all of our athletes fair and equal,” Jackley said in a statement. “I am disappointed that our South Dakota athletes and universities are paying the price for a settlement that did not involve any of our conduct. This settlement unlawfully and blatantly discriminates against female student-athletes by limiting them to less than 10% of the proceeds.”
The new lawsuit comes as the House settlement was already teetering on the brink of collapse, following a hearing last week in which U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken declined to grant preliminary approval.
Jackley had previously indicated the possibility he might sue the NCAA, telling Sportico in a statement in late July that he was considering “available options.” A spokesperson for Montana attorney general Austin Knudsen had similarly expressed concerns about the House settlement’s impact on that state’s Division I universities.
In its current form, the settlement would require non-power conference schools such as South Dakota and South Dakota State to relinquish nearly $1 billion in NCAA distributions over the next decade to pay NIL “back damages” to a class primarily comprised of former football and basketball athletes who played for power conference schools.
