US: Pac-12 commissioner says antitrust ruling threatens NCAA membership

In response to a California judge’s tentative ruling that show-cause order provisions in the NCAA by laws violate California law, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott filed a written declaration stating his belief that the ruling “would threaten the NCAA membership of the Pac-12’s California schools.”

He based that belief on the premise that all NCAA member schools must compete on a level playing field, as laid out by the NCAA Division I Manual, which includes compliance with show-cause provisions.

“If California law prevents institutions in that state from honoring such commitments, it is hard to see how the Pac-12’s Member Universities in California could continue to meet the requirements of NCAA membership,” Scott wrote.

Scott’s declaration was included as part of the NCAA’s response to Judge Frederick Shaller’s ruling that came last month as part of former USC assistant football coach Todd McNair’s civil lawsuit vs. the NCAA. In May, a jury in Los Angeles voted 9-3 in favor of the NCAA following a three-week defamation trial stemming from McNair’s involvement in the Reggie Bush extra-benefits scandal.

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