Arrington opposed the settlement, though other plaintiffs signed off, and Edelson has fought against it.

"These cases appear to be yet another attempt by Mr. Edelson to interfere with efforts to move forward a settlement in the Arrington case. The lawsuits reflect copycat activity and just because they keep repeating the same arguments does not make them true," said Donald Remy, NCAA chief legal officer.

In the Vanderbilt and Penn State cases, the schools are named directly named in the lawsuits. In the other cases, state laws protect the universities from being sued. The conferences named in the lawsuits are the Southeastern Conference, the Big Ten, the Pac-12 and the Western Athletic Conference, where Utah competed while plaintiff and former defensive lineman Richard Seals played for the Utes.

"In terms of naming the schools individually, whether that's an easier path or not remains to be seen," Edelson said. "We think that when we go before a jury the stories are going to be most impactful when we talk about in context of the school. The NCAA has a lot of liability, too, but the schools were the ones that had the most direct relationship with the student-athletes."