College student sues NCAA over Division I football transfer rule

By Jonathan Stempel March 9 (Reuters) - A college student from Michigan has sued the NCAA challenging its rule preventing football players from transferring from one Division I school to another without losing a year of playing eligibility. The antitrust lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in federal court in Indianapolis, where the NCAA is based, by Peter Deppe, a 19-year-old punter who had hoped to transfer to the University of Iowa from Northern Illinois University. Deppe, who is from Almont, Michigan, said Iowa agreed in November to admit him for academic purposes after the mechanical engineering major had posted a 3.1 grade point average. But he said the school ultimately recruited another punter because it would not seek a waiver to let him play immediately, and the NCAA would not grant such a waiver. Deppe said that would have left him ineligible at Iowa until the 2017 season. Players who lose a year of eligibility can be "a very unattractive option for coaches who are under constant 'win now' pressure," and who, unlike players, may leave schools for lucrative jobs elsewhere without similar restrictions, the complaint said. "The NCAA's limitation on the mobility of college athletes is patently unlawful," and restrains their "ability to make the best choices for themselves," it added. Deppe's lawsuit seeks class action status for Division I football players since 2011, a voiding of the transfer rule, and unspecified damages. It also seeks to lift the cap on the number of football scholarships that a Division I school may award. The NCAA, whose full name is the National Collegiate Athletic Association, did not immediately respond on Wednesday to requests for comment. Deppe was not available for further comment. The plaintiff is represented by law firms including Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro. The firm has reached settlements with the NCAA over the use of college athletes' names and likenesses in video games and the treatment of players who suffer concussions, and is suing over NCAA caps on benefits that student-athletes receive. It also represents Devin Pugh, a cornerback who in November sued the NCAA over its transfer rules. He has exhausted his playing eligibility. The case is Deppe v National Collegiate Athletic Association, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, No. 16-00528. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York)