The NCAA is on its heels again, playing defense of its archaic amateurism rules after missing an opportunity to get out in front of an issue.

Five years ago, a federal judge ruled against the NCAA in an antitrust lawsuit brought by former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon, who claimed the association and its member schools and conferences had been inappropriately profiting from athletes' names, images and likenesses without compensating them.

The NCAA took an L, but it was far from a death knell for college sports. In fact, the NCAA rallied. An appellate court overturned Judge Claudia Wilken's ruling that schools should be permitted - though not required - to pay athletes up to $5,000 per year for the right to commercialize their names, images and likenesses.