Another college football season has begun. And what better way to start it off than by using a legal lens to examine the possible scenarios for college football conference realignment, triggered as current TV contracts expire, outlined in a July 25 article authored by The Athletic college football editor-in-chief Stewart Mandel.



Since I tend to correspond regularly with sports economists, and occasionally attorneys, who are quite knowledgeable about the antitrust laws, I was not surprised when I heard from several who had read Mandel’s article. Without exception, they raised the question: how should or would (they are not the same thing) the various possibilities Stewart outlines fare under the most relevant Supreme Court decision relating to college football TV contracts, NCAA v. Board of Regents of Oklahoma, handed down in 1984? That decision was central to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision issued in mid-August sending the lawsuit filed by DirecTV...