Former Charleston Cougars athlete Ante Brzovic sues NCAA over eligibility clause
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A student athlete seeking to play another year of Division I basketball is suing the National Collegiate Athletic Association, claiming his request was denied and the organization violated antitrust laws.
College basketball player Ante Brzovic filed a lawsuit on Sunday against the NCAA for exceptions in eligibility bylaws, including the “Five-Year-Rule.” This rule requires college athletes to complete four seasons of intercollegiate competition within five years from their first full-time enrollment at any NCAA institution.
Brzovic, who is currently in the NCAA Transfer Portal, is a former player for the College of Charleston Cougars and Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm.
Brzovic is a student at the College of Charleston, graduating in May 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. His most recent season in the Lowcountry set records as the eleventh most points in a single season, eight most field goals made and third most defensive rebounds, according to the College of Charleston Athletics website.
The lawsuit claims Brzovic submitted a request on March 21 for an additional year of Division I play and was denied eligibility on April 1.
“For the NCAA to come in and say, ‘No. By rule, without any exceptions, you have used all of your eligibility, which directly affects his marketability, his ability to earn income, which then violates the antitrust act,” Representing Attorney Mark Peper said.
Brzovic, an international student from Croatia, enrolled at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in 2020 to play Division II basketball. The lawsuit claims he was “redshirted” to be exempt from gameplay, to learn English and adjust to college life during COVID-19.
Brzovic competed in 28 games from 2021-2022, starting in 16, but his legal team described it as a “lost year” because of mental stress, language barriers and cultural adjustments.
Brzovic transferred to the College of Charleston in 2022 and played for three seasons. He claims another year of DI basketball would allow him the opportunity to pursue a master’s degree and earn at least $1 million in Name, Image and Likeness, or NIL, earnings over the next season.
In the 2023-2024 school year, Brzovic earned $75,000 and $300,000 in the 2024-2025 season through the College of Charleston.
The lawsuit claims Brzovic submitted the request based on the challenges he faced in his Division II experience, and “he lost critical years of exposure and development at the Division I level due to circumstances beyond [his] control.”
After submitting the waiver, the lawsuit claims the NCAA amended the submission to remove the DI “Five-Tear-Rule” and changed it to the DII Bylaw “Season of Competition Waiver.” The document goes on to claim additional information was requested for Brzovic’s high school recruitment in Croatia, which he provided.
A document from the NCAA Requests and Self Reports online system shows a bright red DENIED bar under the “decision” tab for Brzovic’s waiver request. The organization mentioned the following reasoning under the conditions rationale:
“Staff noted legislation as established by the Division II membership identifies circumstances that support relief from use of a season of competition. In this case, requirements of the legislation are not satisfied given the SA’s participation exceeded the 30-percent legislated limit by 20 contests and SA competed in 17 contests during the second half of the season, including two during postseason. Additionally, Institution No. 2 was unable to provide objective documentation satisfying any legislated exceptions or demonstrating otherwise extenuating circumstances existed to warrant relief of the legislation. Therefore, staff denied the waiver.”
The NCAA has not responded to a request for additional comment.
Brzovic argues the NCAA’s bylaws “limit the number of years college basketball players can play Division I NCAA basketball, particularly after transferring from a Division II school,” and “the Five-Year-Rule counts Brzovic’s Division II time against his Division I eligibility, despite Division II’s differences in eligibility requirements and lack of comparable NIL opportunities.”
Although Brzovic has entered his name into the portal, the lawsuit claims “no school is willing to formally present an offer to him” unless the NCAA names him eligible to play in the 2025-2026 season. The lawsuit also calls entering the National Basketball Association, NBA, draft “premature.”
The decision falls weeks before the deadline for the draft on April 26 and roughly two months from the closure of the portal on May 22.
Brzovic’s case is not the first to challenge the NCAA’s eligibility bylaws.
Brzovic’s legal team parallels the case to Nyzier Fourqurean, a Wisconsin football cornerback who said the NCAA violated antitrust laws, by asking whether the organization can “limit eligibility of a college athlete to play Division I basketball as a result of such athlete’s prior seasons playing Division I.”
Fourqurean was granted his additional year in February.
The lawsuit also compares the case with the 2021 NCAA V Alston lawsuit, in which states adopted NIL laws to restrict the organization from restricting athletes from earning money from their fame and the organization lifted its NIL prohibition. The lawsuit claims these opportunities remain available to Division I athletes.
“By rule, you have five years to play four. And if you play in 30% or more of those games in each of those four years, you do not get another year. That is the rule,” Peper said. “We do not want that changed, we are willing to abide by their rules. What we are seeking from the court are the exceptions to the rules. Are they being applied fairly to Ante? They have been applied fairly to other athletes in the past, as recently as last week.”
More than 190,000 student athletes compete within Division I programs, including some of the largest universities and athletic programs. More than 130,500 compete within Division II and III.
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