Facts
- The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a private association of roughly 960 public and private colleges and universities that sets rules for member athletics.
- Jerry Tarkanian was the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), a public university and NCAA member.
- The NCAA Committee on Infractions investigated UNLV for recruiting and related misconduct and found 38 rules violations, including 10 attributed to Tarkanian.
- The NCAA imposed sanctions on UNLV and required UNLV to show cause why additional penalties should not be imposed if UNLV did not suspend Tarkanian during a probation period.
- UNLV reassigned Tarkanian under terms that included demotion and a major pay reduction.
- Tarkanian sued UNLV and the NCAA in Nevada state court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging deprivation of Fourteenth Amendment due process.
- The Nevada trial court granted injunctive relief and attorney’s fees, treating the NCAA as a state actor; the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed as to the NCAA.
Issues
- Whether the NCAA’s investigation and enforcement conduct that led to UNLV’s suspension of Tarkanian constituted “state action” under the Fourteenth Amendment.
- Whether the NCAA acted “under color of” state law for purposes of liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
Decision
- The Supreme Court reversed (5–4), holding the NCAA’s conduct was not state action and was not under color of state law.
- The Court ruled that UNLV’s compliance with NCAA rules and recommendations did not convert the NCAA’s actions into those of the State of Nevada.
- The Court emphasized that NCAA rules arose from the nationwide membership, not from Nevada law or a Nevada governmental delegation.
- The Court noted UNLV voluntarily joined the NCAA and retained power to withdraw and set its own athletics standards.
- The Court characterized the NCAA and UNLV as adverse in the enforcement process rather than joint participants implementing state policy.
- The Court observed the NCAA could penalize member institutions but lacked authority to directly discipline a member’s employees; employment consequences flowed from UNLV’s choices.
- The Court rejected the argument that heavy practical pressure on UNLV to comply made the NCAA’s decisions attributable to the state.
Legal Principles
- A private association does not become a state actor merely because it regulates and enforces rules affecting a public university.
- “State action” requires conduct fairly attributable to the state; influence or leverage over a state entity, without state delegation or attribution, is insufficient.
- A state entity’s voluntary acceptance of private association rules, even under strong incentives to comply, does not transform those rules into state rules.
- Lack of direct governmental authority over an individual and lack of power to directly sanction that individual weigh against finding state action for § 1983 purposes.
Conclusion
The Court held that the NCAA’s enforcement actions leading to a public university’s discipline of its coach were private conduct, not state action, so the NCAA was not subject to Fourteenth Amendment due process constraints or liability under § 1983.