Attorney General Jackley, SDSU, USD File Motion to Keep NCAA lawsuit in State Court

PIERRE, S.D – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces his office and the South Dakota Board of Regents, on behalf of South Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota, have filed a motion seeking to have its lawsuit against the NCAA heard in state, not federal, court.

The motion, filed Tuesday in South Dakota U.S. District Court in Sioux Falls, is in response to a motion earlier filed by the NCAA requesting that the lawsuit be moved to federal court.

"For a case to be moved to federal court, the federal court must either have original jurisdiction or involve significant federal issues, and the NCAA fails to satisfy either requirement," said Attorney General Jackley. "We believe this case should remain in state court, regardless the NCAA settlement is unfair to smaller universities and female athletes."

Attorney General Jackley and the Board of Regents, SDSU and USD filed its lawsuit in September in Brookings County Circuit Court, arguing a proposed $2.8 billion settlement between the so-called "Power Four" conferences unfairly forces smaller schools like the South Dakota schools to be responsible for a disproportionate share of the settlement cost. The lawsuit also states the female athletes would receive only 10 percent of the settlement proceeds.

The judge will rule on the motion at a later time.