UND sues NCAA over nickname
N.D Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem files 83-page lawsuit, NCAA has 20 days to respond.
Ryan Johnson
Issue date: 10/10/06 Section: News
The long-anticipated lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) was filed Friday in the Grand Forks District Court, starting a courtroom battle to stop the organization from implementing new postseason restrictions on UND after the school was unable to be removed from a "hostile and abusive" mascot and logo list.
North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem outlined the three grounds on which the NCAA is being sued in a written statement Friday, including "breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing ... and unlawful restraint of trade."
The 83-page lawsuit was being researched and compiled over the past several months after UND lost its second appeal to the NCAA on April 28.
"We have probably four reams of supporting documents and affidavits that all had to be researched and assembled, so it just took a lot of time," Stenehjem said.
The NCAA has 20 days to respond to the complaint before the ruling would automatically be in favor of the State of North Dakota, on behalf of the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education and UND, which is the plaintiff in the case.
For now, a preliminary injunction request also has been filed to attempt to stop the nickname restrictions from going into effect until after the legal action is complete. "That is to maintain the status quo while the lawsuit proceeds," he said.
The document ultimately seeks a permanent injunction, which would prevent the policy from being implemented at UND, as well as reimbursement for the costs and legal fees resulting from the lawsuit.
It's impossible to predict how long the case may take, except to say that it will be a matter of months, Stenehjem said.
"Everybody wants to know, and so do I," he said. "It just kind of depends on what position the NCAA takes."
Legal reasoning
The key argument for the suit rests on the idea that the NCAA overstepped its boundaries, something that may be tricky because of their status as an independent organization.
North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem outlined the three grounds on which the NCAA is being sued in a written statement Friday, including "breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing ... and unlawful restraint of trade."
The 83-page lawsuit was being researched and compiled over the past several months after UND lost its second appeal to the NCAA on April 28.
"We have probably four reams of supporting documents and affidavits that all had to be researched and assembled, so it just took a lot of time," Stenehjem said.
The NCAA has 20 days to respond to the complaint before the ruling would automatically be in favor of the State of North Dakota, on behalf of the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education and UND, which is the plaintiff in the case.
For now, a preliminary injunction request also has been filed to attempt to stop the nickname restrictions from going into effect until after the legal action is complete. "That is to maintain the status quo while the lawsuit proceeds," he said.
The document ultimately seeks a permanent injunction, which would prevent the policy from being implemented at UND, as well as reimbursement for the costs and legal fees resulting from the lawsuit.
It's impossible to predict how long the case may take, except to say that it will be a matter of months, Stenehjem said.
"Everybody wants to know, and so do I," he said. "It just kind of depends on what position the NCAA takes."
Legal reasoning
The key argument for the suit rests on the idea that the NCAA overstepped its boundaries, something that may be tricky because of their status as an independent organization.
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