Intercollegiate Athletics; Remedies for Improper Activities

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  7. Intercollegiate Athletics; Remedies for Improper Activities

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  1. As used in this Code section, the term:
    1. "Immediate family" shall mean a student-athlete's spouse, child, parent, stepparent, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, nephew, niece, aunt, uncle, first cousin, and the spouses and guardians of any such individuals.
    2. "Person" shall mean an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, firm, or any other legal or commercial entity.
    3. "Student-athlete" shall mean a student at any public or private institution of postsecondary education in this state or a student residing in this state who has applied, is eligible to apply, or may be eligible to apply in the future to a public or private institution of postsecondary education who engages in, is eligible to engage in, or may be eligible to engage in any intercollegiate sporting event, contest, exhibition, or program.
  2. Each public and private institution of postsecondary education located in this state that participates or engages in intercollegiate athletics shall have a right of action against any person who engages in any activity concerning student-athletes that results in:
    1. The institution being penalized, disqualified, or suspended from participation in intercollegiate athletics by a national association for the promotion and regulation of intercollegiate athletics, by an athletic conference or other sanctioning body, or by reasonable self-imposed disciplinary action taken by such institution to mitigate sanctions likely to be imposed by such organizations as a result of such activity; or
    2. The student-athlete permanently or temporarily losing athletic scholarship eligibility, the ability to participate on an intercollegiate athletic team, or the ability to participate in one or more intercollegiate sporting competitions as sanctioned by a national association for the promotion and regulation of intercollegiate athletics, by an athletic conference or other sanctioning body, or by the institution itself as a reasonable self-imposed disciplinary action taken by such institution to mitigate sanctions likely to be imposed by such organizations as a result of engaging in such activity or as a violation of such institution's own rules.

      The institution shall be entitled to recover all damages which are directly related to or which flow from and are reasonably related to such improper activity and to such penalties, disqualifications, and suspensions. Damages shall include, but not be limited to, loss of scholarships, loss of television revenue, loss of bowl revenue, and legal and other fees associated with the investigation of the activity and the representation of the institution before the sanctioning organizations in connection with the investigation and resolution of such activity. If the institution is the prevailing party in its cause of action, it shall be entitled to an award of court costs, costs of litigation, and reasonable attorney's fees. The institution may also request and the court may enter an injunction against any person found liable from having any further contact with the institution, its student-athletes, and student-athletes who have expressed or might express an interest in attending the institution and from attending athletic contests, exhibitions, games, or other such events in which one or more of the institution's student-athletes is participating. The right of action and remedies under this Code section are in addition to all other rights of action which may be available to the institution.

(Code 1981, §20-2-318, enacted by Ga. L. 2003, p. 707, § 1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 60, § 20/HB 95; Ga. L. 2015, p. 813, § 2/HB 3.)

The 2015 amendment, effective May 6, 2015, in subsection (b), designated the previously existing sentence as the introductory language of subsection (b) and paragraph (b)(1); inserted the concluding colon at the end of the introductory language of subsection (b); in paragraph (b)(1), substituted "The institution" for "the institution" at the beginning, and inserted "; or" at the end; and added paragraph (b)(2).

Cross references.

- Uniform Athlete Agents Act, § 43-4A-1 et seq.

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Limited applicability of section.

- Legal entities and individuals who seek to obtain collegiate athletic scholarships for high school athletes do not fall under the provisions of O.C.G.A. § 20-2-317 or O.C.G.A. § 20-2-318, or the 2003 amendments to O.C.G.A. Ch. 4A, T. 43. 2004 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U2004-1.


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