WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up the contentious issue of pay for college athletes, leaving in place a lower court decision that rules by the governing body for collegiate sports limiting compensation violate antitrust law.

The justices declined to hear an appeal by the National Collegiate Athletic Association seeking to reverse a decision by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That court ruled in September 2015 that the NCAA's ban on compensating athletes for use of their names and images in TV broadcasts and video games constituted a restraint of trade under federal antitrust law. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)