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Michael Bowers is a learning disabled student-athlete who was forced to enroll in special education courses to meet high school requirements. As a result of the courses he took, and miscommunication in the information provided to the NCAA, Bowers was declared as a nonqualifier by the NCAA, meaning that he was ineligible to participate in athletics or to receive financial aid during his freshman year in college.

Bowers subsequently sued the NCAA asking for a preliminary injunction from the New Jersey District Court to force the NCAA to grant him the status necessary to participate in athletics and receive an athletic scholarship. In addressing his complaint, the Court first asked the NCAA to consider a waiver of the eligibility rules for Bowers but such a waiver was denied.

In following much of the same reasoning as other courts which have considered this issue (i.e. Ganden), the district court herein determined that what Bowers was really asking for was a "virtual elimination of the 'core course' requirement, rather than a mere 'modification' or 'accommodation' required by the ADA, which the NCAA already provides," through its waiver process.(p.466) As the court discussed, "the ADA 'does not require the NCAA to simply abandon its eligibility requirements, but only to make reasonable modifications to them." (p.466) The Court then followed the ruling in Ganden "finding that a complete abandonment of the "core course" requirement would fundamentally alter the nature of the privilege of participation in the NCAA's intercollegiate athletic program."(p.467) Therefore, the Court also followed Ganden and denied Bowers motion for a preliminary injunction.

The Bowers case returned to the district court in June of 1998. The second Bowers case dealt with the NCAA's motion to dismiss Bowers' First Amended Complaint. Despite Bowers mistaken allegation that Title II of the ADA applied to the NCAA, in a groundbreaking decision the court initially noted that Title III applies to the NCAA. Specifically the court stated that "Bowers has adequately alleged that the NCAA owns, leases (or leases to), or operates the place of public accommodation and that he was denied the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of that place of public accommodation."(p. * 56).

As to the NCAA being an "operator" of a "place of public accommodation," after reviewing a significant amount of case law, the court stated that the issue boils down to whether the NCAA "manages, controls, or regulates the place of public accommodation" in such a way that it denied Bowers enjoyment of the accommodation in a discriminatory fashion. (p. *80). The court found that Bowers had provided significant facts to demonstrate the NCAA's "operation" under this test because, the NCAA's enforcement power caused him to be declared ineligible and therefore, to be denied access to intercollegiate athletics; the NCAA establishes these standards which caused his ineligibility, as a result he could not participate in practice or games, or receive scholarship money; and the NCAA leases and operates facilities which are places of public accommodation. Therefore, the NCAA's motion for summary judgment asking the court to determine that it was not an "operator" as defined under Title III was denied.

Finally, as to the NCAA's motion to dismiss the claim that it discriminates against the learning disabled through its eligibility rules, the court found that the NCAA's waiver process and other accommodations still might not be enough to avoid a claim of discrimination. In his Amended Complaint, Bowers no longer sought a complete change in the NCAA "core course" requirements, instead he restricted his claim to a modification more closely tied to his particular situation. The court found it inappropriate to determine the merits of this amended claim at the motion stage.

As a result, the case was allowed to proceed toward trial on the merits of these issues.

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