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Federal Judge Certifies NCAA Tennis Antitrust Lawsuit as Class Action

By  |  July 29, 2025

A federal judge in North Carolina has given the green light for a class action lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), allowing two former college tennis players to represent thousands of student-athletes nationwide in a legal challenge over prize money restrictions.

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    According to Reuters, Chief U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles of the Middle District of North Carolina certified a class of approximately 12,000 current and former student-athletes who have competed in NCAA Division I tennis since March 2020. The certification means the case will now move forward on behalf of a significantly larger group than the original two plaintiffs.

    The lawsuit, filed by tennis players Reese Brantmeier and Maya Joint, accuses the NCAA of violating federal antitrust laws by limiting how much prize money student-athletes can accept for off-campus competition. The plaintiffs argue that these restrictions unlawfully stifle competition in the market for Division I tennis talent.

    Per Reuters, Judge Eagles noted that Joint is no longer eligible to compete in college tennis because she accepted more prize money than the NCAA allows under current rules. Despite this, both Joint and Brantmeier will continue to serve as lead plaintiffs in the suit, which is now positioned as a nationwide class action.

    Related: Appeals Mount Against NCAA Settlement Over Athlete Compensation

    The NCAA, for its part, opposed class certification, arguing that individual differences between players — including potential consequences for team composition — made a class action inappropriate. The organization expressed concern that elite athletes who earn money on the professional circuit could jeopardize roster spots for other college players if allowed to also compete at the collegiate level.

    The case adds to a growing legal pushback against the NCAA’s long-standing limits on student-athlete compensation. As Reuters reports, Brantmeier’s lawsuit joins a broader wave of antitrust litigation targeting the association’s control over benefits and pay for college athletes. In a separate legal development, the NCAA recently agreed to a $2.8 billion settlement in California to resolve other antitrust claims and will begin permitting schools to compensate athletes for the use of their names, images, and likenesses (NIL).

    Source: Reuters