A North Carolina judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the 1983 NC State men’s basketball team, shutting down the national championship winner’s request for name, image and likeness compensation.
The team was known as the “Cardiac Pack” for a series of nail-biting victories, including a 54-52 win over Houston in the 1983 national championship game. Lorenzo Charles sealed the victory with a buzzer-beating dunk, and coach Jim Valvano rushed the court — a moment that encapsulated the thrill of March Madness and was used in promotions for years.
Twelve players had filed a suit requesting a jury trial and “reasonable compensation” in June 2024.
“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 said.
The NCAA had requested the case be dismissed after a similar lawsuit filed by a former Kansas basketball player was dismissed in April.
“Because their claims are untimely, barred by their failure to allege a violation of a legally enforceable right, and preempted by the federal Copyright Act, dismissal of this action in its entirety is appropriate,” Superior Court Judge Mark A. Davis wrote in a 44-page order released Thursday
The House vs. NCAA settlement, approved in June, promises nearly $2.8 billion in back pay to athletes who competed from 2016 onward for lost NIL opportunities.
Neither Charles nor Dereck Whittenburg, whose missed 30-footer was collected by his teammate for the winning dunk, was among the NC State players to sue the NCAA.
“We are proud of these Cardiac Pack players who stood up in the national fight for justice against a system that colludes to exploit young and often vulnerable student athletes,” lawyer Stacy Miller, who represented the former NC State players, said in a statement to WRAL.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
