NCAA Is Hit Hard by Court

In a decision that marked a victory for some strikingly low-paid assistant coaches but that administrators warn will be a financial blow to college athletics, a federal court jury ordered the NCAA to pay nearly $67 million in damages Monday for restricting coaches’ earnings in violation of antitrust law.

The judgment--the largest penalty levied against the NCAA--stems from a rule implemented in 1992 limiting the assistant designated as the “restricted-earnings coach” to $16,000 a year--$12,000 in salary and $4,000 for work in summer camps.

U.S. District Judge Kathryn Vratil had earlier found the NCAA guilty of antitrust violations, and the NCAA lifted the rule in 1995.

“The argument of the coaches was, this was an illegal rule created to save costs,” said Robert G. Wilson, a Los Angeles attorney who represented some of the coaches. “They tried to save costs at the expense of the lowest-ranking people on the totem pole.”

Elsa Cole, an NCAA lawyer, said a decision on whether to appeal would be made shortly.

Alternately used to give a young coach a start or to help a veteran coach with a job to fall back on, the restricted-earnings position resulted in coaches working long hours for little more than minimum wage.

One notable example was former Duke assistant Pete Gaudet, a veteran coach in his 50s who took over for Coach Mike Krzyzewski during Krzyzewski’s medical leave of absence in 1995 and made only $16,000 for coaching one of college basketball’s powerhouse programs.

Among the first coaches to organize legal action was Andy Greer, a former assistant under George Raveling at USC from 1990-93 who testified before the federal jury in Kansas City, Kan.

“The rule was unfair,” said Greer, now an assistant at Northern Illinois. “It damaged myself and my family and we deserved to be compensated. The rule didn’t even take into account where one lived. I was living in L.A., and it was quite costly. My wife and I had to take out $13,000 or $14,000 in loans.”

Pete Herrmann, an assistant at Western Kentucky, testified that after losing his job as head coach at Navy, he and his wife were forced to live separately so she could continue to hold a job after he took a $16,000 position at Kansas State.

UCLA Coach Steve Lavin is another former restricted-earnings coach, but with a bit different story. He began his career as a graduate assistant and volunteer assistant and worked under the $16,000 limit for four years--at Purdue and UCLA--but has been more than compensated for that since signing a five-year, $2.375-million contract as head coach.

“I saw all those years as the equivalent of law school or med school, and I was willing to do it because I was getting a great education,” Lavin said. “From a personal standpoint, it probably didn’t affect me as much as someone who was married and had a family to support.”

The plaintiffs in the class-action suit, brought on behalf of about 3,000 coaches, sought $30 million in damages.

The NCAA contended that only 59 coaches had been economically damaged and were due less than $1 million.

The jury set damages for restricted-earnings coaches in men’s basketball at $11.2 million. A group of coaches in women’s basketball, lacrosse and Division I-AA football was awarded $9.5 million, and men’s baseball coaches were awarded $1.6 million.

All damages are tripled under antitrust law.

“I think at some point, it’s a restraint of trade,” said Pam Walker, a UCLA assistant women’s basketball coach and former restricted-earnings coach. “You should be paid what your employer thinks you’re worth, rather than the NCAA.”

Around the nation, administrators are already wondering how the NCAA will pay the damages, with some guessing it will be by withholding some distributions from the $1.75-billion CBS basketball contract.

Times staff writer Eric Sondheimer contributed to this report.