## Facts

- Andrew A. Oliver, a highly recruited Ohio high-school pitcher, retained attorneys/sports advisers before the MLB draft.
- Oliver was drafted by the Minnesota Twins and met with the Twins at his home; one of his attorneys attended and participated at the attorney’s request.
- Oliver declined to sign professionally, enrolled at Oklahoma State University (an NCAA member), and played baseball on scholarship.
- After Oliver terminated the attorneys, they sent him a substantial bill and reported the prior Twins meeting to the NCAA as an alleged agent-rule violation.
- The NCAA determined Oliver violated NCAA Bylaw 12.3.2.1 by permitting an attorney/adviser to be present and participate in negotiations with the Twins, declared him ineligible, and he was suspended from competition.
- Oliver sued the NCAA in an Ohio court for declaratory and injunctive relief; a temporary restraining order/preliminary injunction allowed him to play while the case proceeded.
- After a bench trial limited to declaratory and permanent injunctive relief claims, the court entered final judgment for Oliver.

## Issues

1. Whether a student-athlete is an intended third-party beneficiary of the contractual relationship between the NCAA and a member institution, with standing to seek declaratory and injunctive relief concerning NCAA eligibility rules.
2. Whether NCAA Bylaw 12.3.2.1, limiting attorney presence and participation in negotiations with professional teams, is void and unenforceable under Ohio public policy protecting access to counsel and state control over the practice of law.
3. Whether NCAA Bylaw 19.7 impermissibly attempts to preclude or limit judicial review of NCAA eligibility determinations through internal finality and exhaustion concepts.

## Decision

- The court held Oliver was an intended third-party beneficiary of the NCAA–member institution contract and had standing to sue.
- The court declared NCAA Bylaw 12.3.2.1 void and unenforceable under Ohio law as against public policy.
- The court held NCAA Bylaw 19.7 overreached by purporting to interfere with the authority of Ohio courts to grant relief.
- The court reinstated Oliver immediately as eligible and in good standing.
- The court permanently enjoined the NCAA and the university from imposing further punishment on Oliver based on the challenged bylaws and the underlying negotiation conduct.

## Legal Principles

- A student-athlete at an NCAA member institution may qualify as an intended third-party beneficiary of the NCAA–institution contractual relationship and may sue to enforce contract-based rights affecting eligibility.
- A private athletic association rule is unenforceable under Ohio public policy when it materially interferes with the attorney–client relationship or effectively restricts a person’s ability to have licensed counsel speak and act in negotiations with legal and financial consequences.
- Regulation of attorney conduct is reserved to the state’s legal regulatory authority; private association bylaws cannot dictate the manner in which a licensed attorney represents a client.
- Contractual provisions or association rules purporting to make private eligibility decisions final or to bar court intervention cannot oust state courts of jurisdiction.

## Conclusion

The court granted declaratory and permanent injunctive relief, concluding that Oliver could sue as a third-party beneficiary and that NCAA rules restricting attorney participation in draft-related negotiations, and limiting judicial review of NCAA enforcement decisions, were unenforceable under Ohio law; Oliver was reinstated and further discipline was barred.


Oliver v. National Collegiate Athletic Ass’n, 155 Ohio Misc. 2d 17, 920 N.E.2d 203 (Erie Cty. Ct. Com. Pl. 2009)