INDIANAPOLIS---The National Collegiate Athletic Association announced today that it has filed an amicus brief supporting the National Football League's appeal in the Clarett v. NFL decision that overturned the league's long-standing draft eligibility rule.

NCAA President Myles Brand noted the Association's interest in a number of important legal positions represented in the case.

"There are nearly a half-dozen points in this case that are important to the NCAA with regard to antitrust litigation," he said. "It will be helpful to have the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals on record with regard to these issues."

Brand noted that the most important reason for the Association's support of the NFL appeal is the false hope for professional careers offered by the trial court's decision.

"We are not filing this brief to advance the economic interest of the NCAA. If not reversed, this decision is likely to unrealistically raise expectations and hopes that a professional football career awaits graduation from high school and that education can therefore be abandoned," Brand said. "The result could be a growing group of young men who end up with neither a professional football career nor an education that will support their life plans."

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