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The NCAA and 11 major conferences agreed to pay $208.7 million to settle a federal class-action lawsuit filed by former athletes who claimed their scholarship value was illegally capped at less than the actual cost of attending college, the institutions announced Friday night. If the preliminary settlement is approved by a judge, the average class member who played his or her sport for four years would receive approximately $6,763, according to CBSSports.com.
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The lawsuit, which claimed the NCAA and college sports' conferences violated antitrust law, was filed in 2014 by former West Virginia football player Shawne Alston and later consolidated with other cases.
"This is a watershed settlement -- recovering nearly all of the damages in the case," said attorney Steve Berman, who represented the class of athletes. "We're incredibly pleased with this settlement that brings student-athletes the payment and recognition they deserve."
The NCAA and conferences have since changed their rule to allow cost-of-attendance stipends. In January 2015, the five biggest conferences -- the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference -- passed NCAA legislation allowing the value of athletic scholarships to increase.
The settlement will be fully funded by NCAA reserves, the association said. No school or conference will be required to contribute.
"The agreement maintains cost of attendance as an appropriate dividing line between collegiate and professional sports," the NCAA said in a statement. "In fact, the NCAA and conferences only settled this case because the terms are consistent with Division I financial aid rules, which allow athletics-based aid up to the full cost of obtaining a college education. Whenever possible and appropriate, the NCAA prefers to provide benefits to student-athletes rather than incur the ongoing cost of lawyers and legal processes."
The NCAA said it will "continue to vigorously oppose the remaining portion of the lawsuit seeking pay for play."
