The Seattle-based law firm leading a variety of class-action lawsuits against the NCAA on Tuesday opened another front against the association, this time challenging the association’s rules that prevent some Division I football players from transferring to other schools without losing a season of athletics eligibility.
The new complaint was filed in federal court in Indianapolis, where the NCAA is headquartered. It is being pursued primarily by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP on behalf of Peter Deppe, a punter who had planned to transfer from Northern Illinois to Iowa.
The suit alleges that Iowa accepted Deppe academically, but that Iowa’s athletics department declined to pursue a waiver that would have allowed Deppe to become eligible immediately and the NCAA would not consider a waiver request from Deppe.