• Loading stock data...
Sunday, February 9, 2025
Law

NC State’s 1983 Title Team Sues NCAA Over Name, Image, and Likeness

  • The team was back in the news in March after the Wolfpack made its most memorable run since ’83.
  • The ’83 team said it has been pondering a lawsuit for years.
Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

North Carolina State’s iconic 1983 men’s basketball team is heading to a different court. 

The “Cardiac Pack” is suing the NCAA for using their name, image, and likeness without their permission or with compensation to advertise the NCAA tournament, among other commercial uses. The case was filed in Wake County, N.C., and cites the 2021 Supreme Court case ruling against the NCAA allowing college athletes to be compensated as part of its case. 

“For more than 40 years, the NCAA and its co-conspirators have systematically and intentionally misappropriated the Cardiac Pack’s publicity rights — including their names, images, and likenesses — associated with that game and that play, reaping scores of millions of dollars from the Cardiac Pack’s legendary victory,” the lawsuit says. 

NC State’s 1983 title team is among basketball’s greatest Cinderella stories. It was a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament, but had to win the ACC tournament to secure its bid in a Big Dance that took only 52 teams at the time. The Wolfpack won the title over Houston, which had future Hall of Famers Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon on its roster, on Lorenzo Charles’s memorable buzzer-beating dunk, which sent coach Jim Valvano running around the court looking for someone to hug. Both clips of Charles’s dunk and Valvano’s reaction have been played repeatedly over the years during March Madness. 

Plaintiffs in the case include former Wolfpack players Thurl Bailey, Alvin Battle, Walt Densmore, Tommy DiNardo, Terry Gannon, George McClain, Cozell McQueen, Walter Proctor, Harold Thompson, and Mike Warren. Charles died in 2011. Valvano died of cancer in 1993. Warren told Raleigh’s News & Observer they are working with his estate and Quinton Leonard’s, another deceased former teammate, to be included. 

Both the NCAA and Collegiate Licensing Company, which the NCAA uses to license its products, are listed as defendants. The plaintiffs demand a jury trial and are seeking a still-to-be-determined amount of compensatory damages greater than $25,000.

Notable absences from the court filing include former players such as Sidney Lowe, Ernie Myers, and Dereck Whittenburg, the last of whose desperation heave in the title game was caught by Charles and dunked for the title. 

Warren said the team—memorialized in the documentary Survive and Advance—has long discussed a suit while remaining tight for decades. The team was frequently in the news in March as NC State made a Final Four run that drew comparisons to its 1983 team after it had to win every game of the ACC tournament just to get a March Madness bid. 

“We’ve been an incredibly close group of guys for over 40 years,” Warren said to the paper. “One of the factors in our success, I believe, was how close we were as a team. That’s continued for our lifetime to this point as adults. We’re friends, we know each other’s families, we stay in touch. Everyone was a part of this decision.”

The former players are being represented by lawyers Stacy Miller and Elliot Abrams, who has an extensive history with NCAA-related cases and most recently represented North Carolina wide receiver Tez Walker in his eligibility case against the NCAA. 

Miller, Abrams, and the NCAA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit mentions the billion-plus dollars the NCAA pulls down annually from men’s March Madness broadcast rights alone, and it pointed out the frequent usage of videos from their run on the NCAA’s website, which play only after advertisements and have never “paid one cent” to the plaintiffs. 

“The NCAA has for decades leveraged its monopoly power to exploit student-athletes from the moment they enter college until long after they end their collegiate careers,” the lawsuit reads. “It has conspired with conferences, colleges, licensing companies and apparel companies to fix the price of student-athlete labor near zero and make student-athletes unwitting and uncompensated lifetime pitchmen for the NCAA.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

exclusive

5 Big Sound Bites From Radio Row at Super Bowl LIX

Straight shooting from Greg Olsen, Billie Jean King, and more.
Brady and Mahomes

Chiefs Fatigue Is Real. It’s Nowhere Near Patriots Hate Yet

People who have covered both teams say the difference is stark.
Donald Trump

Trump Threatens to Eliminate Tax Breaks for Sports Owners

Amortization and other strategies have saved sports owners millions.

Featured Today

Nov 24, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) celebrates with running back Saquon Barkley (26) after the Eagles defeat the Los Angeles Rams during the first half at SoFi Stadium.

How the Eagles Reinvented Championship Roster Construction

Philadelphia is one of the most innovative franchises in the NFL.
February 3, 2025

‘Ultimate Throwback’: The Unimpeachable Cool of Hartford Whalers Gear

Nostalgia and street cred have driven a consistent frenzy for merch.
January 20, 2024; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Kristin Juszczyk, wife of San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk (44), before a 2024 NFC divisional round game against the Green Bay Packers at Levi's Stadium.
February 1, 2025

The New WAGs: Sports Wives Building Business Empires

Athletes’ wives and girlfriends are bucking stereotypes and cashing in.
Feb 3, 2019; Berkeley, CA, USA; California Golden Bears mascot dances on the court during a stoppage in play in the second half against the Stanford Cardinal at Haas Pavilion.
January 31, 2025

The Toll of Bicoastal Travel on New ACC Members Cal and Stanford

Cal and Stanford face missed flights, chaotic sleep schedules, and academic demands.
The NCAA logo on the field in the closing second of the Anderson University inaugural football game with St. Andrew's University on Spero Financial Field at Melvin and Dollie Younts Stadium at Anderson University in Anderson, S.C. Saturday, September 7, 2024. Anderson won 51-14.
February 5, 2025

Three Penn Swimmers Sue Ivy League, NCAA Over Trans Participation Policy

The lawsuit’s plaintiffs are requesting class-action status.
A Fox Sports camera records on the sideline prior to the NCAA football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024.
February 6, 2025

Fox Seeks Dismissal of Sex Abuse Lawsuit, While Bayless, Taylor Deny Wrongdoing

Skip Bayless and Joy Taylor deny the allegations made against them.
Sponsored

How UBS Crafts Impactful Partnerships Across Sports, Arts, and Culture

As UBS continues to expand its impressive array of sports and entertainment partnerships, the company solidifies its position as a leader in wealth management.
New York attorney general Letitia James
February 5, 2025

NWSL to Pay Players $5 Million in Abuse Settlement

Years of abuse in the NWSL came to light in 2021.
Dec 9, 2023; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Crew forward Cucho Hernandez (9) celebrates scoring a goal in front of Los Angeles FC goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau (16) during the MLS Cup final at Lower.com Field.
February 3, 2025

NASL Loses Antitrust Lawsuit Against MLS, U.S. Soccer

The defense argued bad business moves, not a conspiracy, tanked league.
Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle John Simon (54) sacks Michigan Wolverines quarterback Denard Robinson (16) in the first half of their NCAA football game between Ohio State and Michigan at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, November 26, 2011. (Dispatch photo by Neal C. Lauron)
January 30, 2025

NCAA, Big Ten Seek to Dismiss Lawsuit of 300-Plus Former Michigan Football..

The former Wolverines are seeking $50 million in unpaid NIL usage.
U.S. Soccer Federation president Carlos Cordeiro (left) and Sunil Gulati (center) and MLS commissioner Don Garber (right) pose for a photo.
January 29, 2025

Billionaire Who Chaired NASL Admits He Used Burner Account to Attack MLS,..

Rocco Commisso, the Mediacom founder, compared the MLS commissioner to Harvey Weinstein.