In Episode 3 of Unilateral Decisions, the conversation moves to the landmark 2021 Supreme Court case NCAA v. Alston, a ruling that fundamentally altered the landscape of college athletics.

Dominic Shelden, Joe Nickell and Mike Walsh sit down with sports law expert and professor Sam Ehrlich to unpack how the case challenged the NCAA’s long-standing control over athlete compensation and why the court unanimously ruled against the organization.

The decision itself focused on education-related benefits for student-athletes, but the broader impact went far beyond that narrow issue. The ruling opened the door to a wave of legal challenges and helped accelerate the arrival of the NIL era.

In this episode, the group breaks down the legal arguments, the Supreme Court’s reasoning, and why Alston became the moment that signaled the NCAA’s traditional model could no longer stand.

If O’Bannon cracked the door open, Alston blew it off the hinges.