http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7c3808e775e5465bbc9e5467a465caca/ncaa-fends-challenges-antitrust-exemption-debated
As pressure from litigation and possible congressional intervention mounts, the idea of handing some control of college sports to the federal government in return for protection from antitrust law becomes more of a possibility.
An antitrust ruling against the NCAA in the 1980s took college football's television rights away from the association and gave them to schools and conferences. The ruling led to the multibillion-dollar media rights deals that exist today.
"The idea of going to congress and trying to get an antitrust exemption for what is a huge commercial enterprise I think is a fool's errand," he said.[b] "The U.S. Supreme Court has characterized the NCAA as a cartel. [/b]Cartels don't get antitrust exemptions. Educational institutions do."