Federal judge rejects college football player’s challenge to NCAA rule

DENVER (CN) — A federal judge on Monday rejected a University of California Berkley athlete’s challenge to National Collegiate Athletic Association’s rules that threatened to end his football career, finding the U.S. District of Colorado to be the wrong arena in which to hear the case.

“Taken to its logical conclusion, plaintiff’s position — if accepted — would render the NCAA subject to the general personal jurisdiction of every single state in the country,” wrote U.S. District Judge Nina Wang in a 12-page opinion.

Aidan Keanaaina, a senior at University of California Berkeley, sued the NCAA in March challenging the association’s denial of a medical waiver while arguing the Five Year Rule places unreasonable restrictions on which college athletes can play and grants the association monopolistic power over potential revenue opportunities involving name, image and likeness (NIL) rights.

Just five years after the Supreme Court in Alston v. NCAA unanimously rejected the concept of amateurism and led to the NCAA allowing college athletes to profit off their publicity rights, Keanaaina said the NCAA’s Five Year Rule is commercial in nature and therefore subject to antitrust laws.

The NCAA’s Five Year Rule requires college athletes engage in no more than four seasons in a given sport. Per the rule, they must also complete those four seasons within five calendar years of the student’s initial college enrollment.

Keanaaina enrolled at Notre Dame in 2020 and played in just one game during his freshman season before the NCAA issued a blanket waiver to all players in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. While he appeared in three games his sophomore year, he missed his junior season in 2022 thanks to a preseason ACL tear. He played in six games in 2023 before transferring to UC-Berkeley to play in the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

A medical waiver for 2022 would have allowed Keanaaina to play through 2026, completing his quota and being eligible to receive compensation. Moreover, UC-Berkeley offered him $1 million to play this year.

Originally from Brighton, Colorado, Keanaaina graduated from J.K. Mullen High School in Denver before beginning his college football career.

While Wang did not address the merits of Keanaaina’s argument, she found the fact he was from Colorado inadequate to warrant filing suit in that district.

“Mr. Keanaaina has not met his burden to allege facts creating a reasonable probability that this court has personal jurisdiction over the NCAA, and for this reason, his lawsuit is not properly in this court,’” the Joe Biden appointee concluded.

The NCAA is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Keanaaina is represented by Denver attorney Bolor Nyamaa of Lewis Brisbois. Dorsey & Whitney attorney Adrea Wechter represents the NCAA. Neither party immediately responded to a request for comment.

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