BYU Sunday sports ban

[James Maule]

>>> "Steven D. Jamar" <sjamar at LAW.HOWARD.EDU> 09/18/99 09:11AM >>> asks
BYU bans athletic competition on Sundays.  The NCAA sought to ban
schools from NCAA championship tournaments if the school had such a
Sunday ban.  (The NCAA ultimately decided not to ban the schools.)

My question:  could the NCAA constitutionally ban BYU and other schools
from championship tournaments on the basis of refusal by the school to
play on Sundays?

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Two thoughts:

1. Is the NCAA a state actor? Does it get federal funding? (I think not). Is it a state actor because some or all of its member schools get federal funding?

2. Assuming there is state action, would the issue be moot for certain sports (e.g, football, which rarely has a Sunday game except for certain bowl games in certain years) because the BYU ban would not interfere with playing? Or is there some sort of tapestry that weaves all of the sports into one monolithic "competition"? ( I guess this depends in part on how the NCAA was going to work its sanction (all sports v sports in question. The NCAA uses both approaches, I think).


Jim Maule
Professor of Law
Villanova University School of Law
Villanova, PA 19085
610-519-7135
maule at law.vill.edu
http://vls.law.vill.edu/prof/maule/home