The Seventh Circuit upheld the dismissal of claims brought by two former University of Pennsylvania student-athletes against the NCAA and more than 120 NCAA Division I universities and colleges, alleging that student athletes are employees entitled to a minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
While acknowledging that student-athletes spend a tremendous amount of time playing for their schools, the Seventh Circuit held that “student-athletic ‘play’ is not ‘work,’ at least as the term is used in the FLSA [and] Appellants in this case have not, and quite frankly cannot, allege that the activities they pursued as student-athletes qualify as ‘work’ sufficient to trigger the minimum wage requirements of the FLSA.” The Seventh Circuit’s Opinion noted the long tradition of amateurism in college sports, which it found by definition, shows that student athletes participate in their sports for reasons wholly unrelated to immediate compensation, without any real expectation of earning an income.
The Seventh Circuit also observed that its ruling is in line with a majority of courts, which have likewise held that student athletes are not employees.