National Collegiate Athletic Association v. R. M. Smith

Decided February 23, 1999. Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 98-84 · 525 U.S. 459 (1999) · Cited 216 times

Holding

Dues payments from recipients of federal funds do not suffice to subject the NCAA to suit under Title IX.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• United States Department of Transportation v. Paralyzed Veterans of America · 477 U.S. 597 (1986)
• Grove City College v. Bell · 465 U.S. 555 (1984)
• National Collegiate Athletic Assn. v. Tarkanian · 488 U.S. 179 (1988)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools · 503 U.S. 60 (1992)
• United States v. Bestfoods · 524 U.S. 51 (1998)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Gonzales v. Duenas-Alvarez · 549 U.S. 183 (2007)
• Davenport v. Washington Education Ass'n · 551 U.S. 177 (2007)
• Zivotofsky Ex Rel. Zivotofsky v. Clinton · 566 U.S. 189 (2012)
• Alexander v. Sandoval · 532 U.S. 275 (2001)
• Davis Ex Rel. LaShonda D. v. Monroe County Board of Education · 526 U.S. 629 (1999)
• Lilly v. Virginia · 527 U.S. 116 (1999)
• Muehler v. Mena · 544 U.S. 93 (2005)
• Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education · 544 U.S. 167 (2005)
• Good News Club v. Milford Central School · 533 U.S. 98 (2001)
• Lackawanna County District Attorney v. Coss · 532 U.S. 394 (2001)
• Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly · 533 U.S. 525 (2001)
• Ferguson v. City of Charleston · 532 U.S. 67 (2001)
• Lee v. Kemna · 534 U.S. 362 (2002)
• Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee · 555 U.S. 246 (2009)
• Sereboff v. Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Inc. · 547 U.S. 356 (2006)
• Pierce County v. Guillen · 537 U.S. 129 (2003)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1999). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).