Seeking NIL Compensation, Players From Legendary ‘Cardiac Pack’ Championship Team Sue NCAA

Seeking to address long-standing grievances over the unauthorized use of their publicity rights, 10 members of the legendary 1983 North Carolina State University (NC State) NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship team — famously known as the “Cardiac Pack” — have initiated legal action against the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Collegiate Licensing Company in the state of North Carolina.

In one example of unauthorized use of the players’ names, images and likenesses, NCAA.com currently hosts videos of the Cardiac Pack, accessible only after viewers watch commercial advertisements, from which the NCAA profits. Footage and images from the team’s legendary buzzer-beating victory in the 1983 National Championship game are also often used to promote the NCAA’s annual March Madness tournament and other commercial endeavors. The players’ lawsuit, filed by Lead Counsel W. Stacy Miller, II, seeks reasonable compensation for the NCAA’s appropriation of their names, images, and likenesses.

Read the full ESPN, New York Times, ABC News, Sports Illustrated, News & Observer, and Bleacher Report articles.