STATE COLLEGE, CENTRE COUNTY - A lawyer says that Pennsylvania could win its case against the NCAA, and it could mean the Nittany Lions playing for a bowl berth sooner than you may think.
The lawsuit is in response to sanctions handed down against Penn State University after former FBI Director Louis Freeh's report.
WTAJ News spoke with a lawyer, to get an idea of how long these types of cases usually take, and if the state were to win, what that would mean for the Penn State community.
This lawsuit was filed in Pennsylvania's federal court in Williamsport. On the last page, it asks that all sanctions levied against Penn State get set aside. One local lawyer told us he believes that could happen.
WTAJ Legal Analyst Tony DeBoef says he thinks a trial between Pennsylvania and the NCAA could move quickly through the court system.
"The sanctions are only going to go on for four years, so it may be one of those things where they try to push it quicker than normal, "Do you think they will?" I think they will."
DeBoef's worked in the federal court in Williamsport. He says his best guess for a timeframe stems from the way recent strikes were worked out in pro football and basketball. There's a season coming up, so there's motivation to act quickly.
"...they moved pretty quickly, so I would believe, that this is a similar setting and you're going to see something in 6 to 12 months at the most."
DeBoef thinks the NCAA will try to move the case to a different district or federal court out of Pennsylvania. But he could see them meeting in the middle and settling out of court. Splitting the 60 million dollar fine and the four year bowl ban in half.
Decan Kochersperger just graduated Penn State in 2012. He's seen the damage the sanctions have done first hand, at his job.
"It almost seemed like they didn't believe the economic damage it's done. And we've had, at the Student Book Store, we've had the slowest day I heard ever was this semester..."
DeBoef says the economic impact of the sanctions will work in Penn State's favor of getting a favorable settlement.
"I like those types of arguments very much, what is troublesome is the consent decree that was entered into voluntarily by the university so there's going to be some hurdles there that the state has to overcome."
Like many "Penn staters", Kochersperger has hope.
"Getting rid of those sanctions would definitely give a financial advantage to a lot of these people that have been hurting. And in that aspect I think I would be very happy to see it get diminished through the courts..."
DeBoef thinks it'll boil down to legal arguments and maybe testimony in front of a federal court judge... he thinks its possible that Penn State could play in a bowl game as early as next year.
