Big-time college sports are all about the money. Money for the
schools, Money for the athletic programs, money for specific
sports, money for the coaches and now with NIL programs, money for
the college athletes. More often, however, these programs are being
challenged and being challenged on antitrust grounds.
Careful lawyers and plaintiffs are examining existing antitrust
laws to go after these arrangements. Absent new federal regulation
or collective action, or even voluntary collective guidelines,
antitrust law may be the key front for policing college athletics
and college money.
This article and the arguments advanced by a University of
Michigan Law School professor show that perhaps another avenue for
policing college athletics is use of antitrust laws. Crane argued
that the NCAA bylaw enforced against Harbaugh violates antitrust
law. He in essence argues it violates an economic rule as opposed
to a rule of the game, implicating antitrust law. He converts
