TABLE OF CONTENTS 

I. Key Takeaways

II. Introduction

III. Board of Regents (1981-1984) and its Consequences

    A. Football Sues for its Financial Freedom

    B. The Supreme Court’s “Magic Dicta”

    C. The NCAA’s Hoopapalooza and Power 5 Football’s Free Ride

 IV. The Legal Firewall the NCAA and Power 5 Have Built Through Federal Litigation

     A. Class-action Antitrust Cases Challenging Amateurism-based Compensation  

         Limits

     B. Other Cases Challenging NCAA Eligibility Rules or Employee Status

     C. Cases in Which Courts Have Found the NCAA Has No Legal Duty to Athletes

      D. NCAA v Tarkanian (1988)

 V. Factors Influencing the Federal Judiciary’s Deference to Amateurism

      A. Well-Intentioned (Mostly) Paternalism

      B.  Respect for Venerable American Institutions

      C. Deference to Judgments and Choices of Voluntary Associations

      D. Fear of Unintended Consequences

E. Utilitarianism

 VI. Conclusion

VII. Glossary