Jeremy Bloom's football career may have ended this week. A world-class skier in addition to being a player at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Mr. Bloom had challenged National Collegiate Athletic Association rules that ban athletes from making endorsement deals. A three-judge panel of the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday in favor of the NCAA, as a lower court had done twice already.

The association's rules allow athletes who receive a salary in one sport to compete in a different sport in college, and some football players have made money playing minor-league baseball. Skiers do not receive salaries, but those who compete with Mr. Bloom on the World Cup circuit make a living from endorsement deals.

Even though a separate NCAA rule forbids athletes to endorse products under any circumstances, Mr. Bloom had argued that he should be entitled to income earned by "customary" means in his professional sport. To force the association's hand, he signed deals with Equinox Fitness Clubs and manufacturers of skiing equipment (The Chronicle, February 20).

Now, having lost the court ruling, he may have forfeited his eligibility to play NCAA football.

"It is the NCAA's responsibility to determine whether I will be eligible for collegiate competition next fall and not the courts," Mr. Bloom said in a written statement. "I believe that I should have the right to be a professional in the sport of freestyle skiing, as well as an amateur in the sport of football."

He did not say whether he planned to appeal the decision. His Chicago-based lawyer, Peter G. Rush, told several news outlets that he was weighing an appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court.

The NCAA did not return a call seeking comment.

In the appeals court's unanimous ruling, Judge John Daniel Dailey wrote that the NCAA's bylaws "express a clear and unambiguous intent to prohibit student-athletes from engaging in endorsements and paid media appearances."

He added: "The clear import of the bylaws is that, although student-athletes have the right to be professional athletes, they do not have the right to simultaneously engage in endorsement or paid media activity and maintain their eligibility to participate in amateur competition. And we may not disregard the clear meaning of the bylaws simply because they may disproportionately affect those who participate in individual professional sports."

Colorado's interim head football coach, Rocky Cabral, said in a written statement that "we're disappointed for him, and hopefully something can still be done to keep his dreams of doing both (football and skiing) alive."