A judge's ruling Monday will allow high-profile teams such as Duke and Kentucky to participate in preseason tournaments like the Great Alaska Shootout every year.
And best of all, the Dukes and Kentuckys could come back in consecutive years.
Monday's decision overturned an NCAA rule prohibiting Division I basketball teams from playing in more than two exempt tournaments in a four-year period.
"Obviously, it makes more teams available to us. It also makes them available to everybody else," UAA athletic director Steve Cobb said. "It'll end up being good for the fans."
But the judge's ruling does not prevent an appeal, which defused some of the excitement. Cobb wanted to take a wait-and-see approach.
"It's gonna be during the year sometime that we'll see the impact," Cobb said. "We'd like to think whatever happens we'll still be viewed as an elite tournament and have first shot at the upper-echelon teams."
U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus Jr. ruled Monday that the NCAA's restrictions violated federal antitrust laws, and he granted a group of tournament promoters and organizers a permanent injunction.
By limiting which teams could play in such tournaments -- known as exempt events -- the NCAA was creating a "substantial anticompetitive effect," said the plaintiffs' Cincinnati attorney, Bill Markovits.
Spokesman Jeff Howard said the NCAA will review the ruling before making any decisions to appeal.
"The NCAA thinks the ruling is wrong and it seems that the association through its legislative processes should regulate the season rather than the promoters of exempt contests," Howard said.
"It's unfortunate that the decision came at such a late date with much of the scheduling already in place for this season."
Scheduling became more and more difficult, Cobb said, because of the rule limiting exempt tournament appearances.
"It's simple mathematics," he said. "There were more spots than teams available."
Cobb envisions a bidding war between tournaments to woo the biggest names in the game.
The suit was brought by Cincinnati-based Worldwide Basketball, Sports Tours Inc., Dorna Sports Promotions, LLC and the Gazelle Group.
Those groups have organized or promoted such preseason tournaments as the Las Vegas Classic, the San Juan Shootout, the Coaches Vs. Cancer event and the National Association of Basketball Coaches Classic.
They said that if high-profile teams can play in only two such events in a four-year period, then spots in tournaments must be filled by teams that attract less fan interest.
Other exempt events include the Shootout, Maui Invitational and Preseason NIT.
This year's Shootout field includes Duke, Houston, Liberty, Pacific, Purdue, Seton Hall, Southwest Texas and the host UAA Seawolves.
Markovits said the rule forced 11 of 28 exempt tournaments to be canceled last season because there wasn't an appropriate mix of teams.
"What makes these tournaments work is you generally have a mix of majors and mid-majors. It makes them interesting for the fans. You get some upsets. It's almost like a mini-NCAA tournament," he said.
Each Division I school is limited to 28 regular-season games, but a team can appear in more games by playing in exempt tournaments.
Each tournament appearance counts as one game against the NCAA limit, even though a team actually could play in several games.
The suit was filed in December 2001. Sargus turned down the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction in July 2002, saying more time was needed to asses the impact of the NCAA's rule.
Reached at his home Monday night, Sargus declined comment.
