The runner-up Butler Bulldogs may have been the surprise darlings of the 2010 National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament, but it’s time for Butler to move over: There’s a new NCAA Cinderella story taking shape.
On Friday, in a 14-page, 2-to-1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit revived a seemingly quixotic class action by potential ticket buyers who claim the NCAA is running an illegal lottery for basketball tournament tickets. [Hat tip: Courthouse News.] The Seventh Circuit panel overturned a lower court’s dismissal of the suit, ruling that because customers pay a nonrefundable $6 service charge for tickets whose value far exceeds their nominal cost, the ticket purchase process can be construed under Indiana state law as an illegal lottery. The majority also found that the class pled sufficient facts to allege that the process resulted in unjust enrichment for the NCAA. (Chicago federal district court judge John Darrah, sitting by designation, wrote the opinion for himself and Seventh Circuit judge Michael Kanne; Senior Judge Richard Cudahy dissented, writing that there is no distinction between this case and Lesher v. Baltimore Football Club, a 1986 ruling that upheld an application process for Indianapolis Colts tickets.)
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