Dylan Koh
On November 7, 2024, the NCAA Division I Council adopted a rule change in men’s ice hockey “allowing involvement with pro teams prior to college enrollment” effective on August 1, 2025.[1] This change has triggered a massive shift in the hockey world and has major consequences for all North American Hockey leagues including the NHL, its affiliate minor leagues, NCAA Division I ice hockey, and major junior hockey.
The significance of this change only makes sense in the context of the current landscape of junior hockey leagues. The previous NCAA rule stated "an individual shall not be eligible for intercollegiate athletics in a sport if the individual ever competed on a professional team."[2] Under the previous regime, young ice hockey players had to make an early decision on where to play and develop. For these players, the two main paths to the NHL are NCAA Division I Ice Hockey and the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), also known as major junior hockey. Most American players choose the NCAA path; the NCAA is considered the best non-professional ice hockey league in the United States and over 30% of NHL players have played NCAA hockey.[3] Alternatively, most Canadian players choose to play in the CHL which is made of three leagues based on geography.[4] The CHL is a very common path to playing professional hockey as more than 50% of NHL players have played in the CHL.[5]
How these two leagues interacted was the subject of the NCAA’s previous rule. For years, the NCAA had “labeled major junior hockey as professional and thus its players [were] ineligible to play men’s college ice hockey.”[6] The NCAA justified this designation because the CHL allows players who have signed professional contracts with NHL teams to play in the league.[7] In fact, the presence of signed CHL players is a major source of marketing for the CHL.[8] Furthermore, the NCAA took issue with the monthly stipend that CHL players receive even though this stipend is “no more than $600 per month for living expenses… [and] is not considered as income for tax purposes.”[9]
The NCAA’s rule change comes in light of a pending class action lawsuit brought against the NCAA and 10 Division I Ice Hockey schools on behalf of a CHL player. On August 12, 2024, Ryan Masterson brought a class action lawsuit alleging that “as a result of the illegal conspiracy in violation of the U.S. antitrust laws” the NCAA’s rule is an illegal group boycott aimed at suppressing competition between NCAA hockey teams and CHL teams.[10] After playing in two exhibition games for a CHL team at age 16, Masterson lost his eligibility to play Division I hockey. His lawsuit seeks class certification for all similarly affected CHL and NCAA Division I players since August 12, 2020.[11] As for damages, the lawsuit seeks compensatory damages trebled under antitrust laws based on suppressed wages, exclusion from Division I hockey, and lost scholarships.[12] Although the NCAA has already granted CHL players NCAA eligibility, the lawsuit is still active as of Feb 11, 2025.
The underlying antitrust theory of this lawsuit has been employed in other lawsuits challenging NCAA amateurism rules.[13] Masterson contends that the NCAA and its member schools, which are essentially competing businesses, have colluded to restrict how they compete for athletes. As a result, athletes experience both financial and professional harm when potential competitors agree not to compete or to compete less vigorously than market forces would typically drive.
For many experts, this lawsuit and subsequent NCAA rule change were inevitable. For years, players have pointed to the inconsistencies in the NCAA’s rule that demonstrated intent to exclude CHL players. For example, the NCAA has previously allowed European players who competed professionally in Europe to retain their NCAA eligibility despite excluding CHL players for the same reasons.[14] Additionally, the NCAA’s issue with the CHL player stipend appears ridiculous when considering pro athletes who have been financially compensated, such as swimmer Katie Ledecky, still retained NCAA eligibility.[15]
As for the future of the CHL and NCAA, questions remain regarding how exactly the transfer process will function. Experts predict an obvious increase in transfers between the two leagues.[16] However, several issues that will need to be resolved include whether NCAA programs will only have access to players not signed to pro contracts[17] or whether education packages will be honored for major junior players who now choose to go to NCAA schools instead of Canadian universities.[18]
Ultimately this rule change and lawsuit is a clear victory for all young ice hockey players who now have more options for their development and less restrictions on which path they choose. However, the implementation of this change does worry experts and league officials alike.
[1] @NCAA_PR, X (Nov 7, 2024, 2:35 PM), https://x.com/ncaa_pr/status/1854608580801876413?s=61&mx=2 [https://perma.cc/5379-9F2C] [web capture unavailable]
[2] Greg Wyshynski, NCAA makes Canadian Hockey League players eligible for Div. I, ESPN (Nov 7, 2024) https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/42254200/ncaa-makes-canadian-hockey-league-players-eligible-div-i [https://perma.cc/8SPJ-YKCM] [/web/20250213051325/https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1888366857230434449&lang=en&maxWidth=560px&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.espn.com%2Fcollege-sports%2Fstory%2F_%2Fid%2F42254200%2Fncaa-makes-canadian-hockey-league-players-eligible-div-i&sessionId=1dbc9197e06ae083328a65d5ff8f0bc70ea8313a&siteScreenName=espn&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px] [https://shorturl.at/HFMaq - the web archive link is very long for some reason, I shortened it using shorturl but let me know if there’s anything else I can do]
[3] Michael Mccann, NCAA Sued Over Hockey’s ‘Boycott’ of Junior League Players, Sportico (August 15, 2024) https://www.sportico.com/law/analysis/2024/ncaa-hockey-antitrust-lawsuit-1234793568/ [https://perma.cc/37AF-Z9K3] [/web/20250212165956/https://www.sportico.com/law/analysis/2024/ncaa-hockey-antitrust-lawsuit-1234793568/]
[4] About the CHL, https://chl.ca/aboutthechl/ (last visited Feb. 10, 2025) [https://perma.cc/59D9-G3VC] [/web/20250212170903/https://chl.ca/aboutthechl/]
[5] Supra Note 3
[6] Scott Wheeler & Corey Pronman, NCAA votes to open up college eligibility to Canadian Hockey League players, The Athletic (Nov. 7, 2024) https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5827014/2024/11/07/ncaa-hockey-chl-players-eligiblity/ [https://perma.cc/8C3L-LTJY] [/web/20250213045117/https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5827014/2024/11/07/ncaa-hockey-chl-players-eligiblity/]
[7] Supra Note 2
[8] Prospect Information, https://chl.ca/prospect-information/ (last visited Feb. 10, 2025) [https://perma.cc/GQY8-UYDJ] [/web/20250213045234/https://chl.ca/prospect-information/]
[9] John Wawrow, NCAA weighs eligibility change that would allow CHL players to compete on US college teams, AP News (Oct. 8, 2024) https://apnews.com/article/ncaa-hockey-eligibility-lawsuit-5ecd327d0572a36ef0814fc9c1adfd49 [Perma link would not save] [/web/20250213045341/https://apnews.com/article/ncaa-hockey-eligibility-lawsuit-5ecd327d0572a36ef0814fc9c1adfd49]
[10] Complaint at 1, Masterson v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, et. al., Docket No. 1:24-cv-00754 (W.D.N.Y. 2024)
[11] Id. at ¶ 145
[12] Id. at 32; Berger Montague, Berger Montague Files Antitrust Class Action in the US Against the NCAA And Several Schools on Behalf of US and Canadian Players in the Canadian Hockey League, (Nov. 12, 2024) https://bergermontague.com/news/berger-montague-files-antitrust-class-action-in-the-us-against-the-ncaa-and-several-schools-on-behalf-of-us-and-canadian-players-in-the-canadian-hockey-league/ [https://perma.cc/4ML5-Y4Z5] [/web/20250213045624/https://bergermontague.com/news/berger-montague-files-antitrust-class-action-in-the-us-against-the-ncaa-and-several-schools-on-behalf-of-us-and-canadian-players-in-the-canadian-hockey-league/]; The Hockey Boycott, https://www.hockeyboycott.com/ (last visited Feb 10. 2025) [https://perma.cc/BY3P-7LV7] [/web/20250213050357/https://www.hockeyboycott.com/]
[13] Associated Press, NCAA settles lawsuit with states over NIL rules for recruits, ESPN (Jan 31, 2025) https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/43643716/ncaa-settles-lawsuit-tennessee-virginia-compensation-rules-recruits [https://perma.cc/HX9B-K9YX] [/web/20250213050549/https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/43643716/ncaa-settles-lawsuit-tennessee-virginia-compensation-rules-recruits]
[14] Supra Note 10 at ¶ 103
[15] Stanford Women's Swimming Roster: Katie Ledecky, https://gostanford.com/sports/womens-swimming-diving/roster/season/2017-18/player/katie-ledecky (last visited Feb 10. 2025) [https://perma.cc/5M7T-VNKC] [/web/20250213050651/https://gostanford.com/sports/womens-swimming-diving/roster/season/2017-18/player/katie-ledecky]
[16] Scott Wheeler, Everything to know about the NCAA’s decision to make CHL players eligible, The Athletic (Nov. 7, 2024) https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5828094/2024/11/07/ncaa-canadian-hockey-league-college-hockey-explained/ [https://perma.cc/2RK9-P32U] [/web/20250213051037/https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5828094/2024/11/07/ncaa-canadian-hockey-league-college-hockey-explained/]
[17] Id.
[18] OHL Education Services, https://chl.ca/ohl/education-services/ (last visited Feb 10. 2025) [https://perma.cc/D6J3-7J7M] [/web/20250213051134/https://chl.ca/ohl/education-services/]