Class Of 2022 Athletes Granted Injunction For A 5th Season Of Eligibility, NCAA To Appeal

U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney granted a class-wide injunction, ruling that all high school class of 2022 athletes who exhausted their fourth season of college eligibility this spring are eligible for a fifth season this school year. The ruling from Sweeney, a Colorado-based judge, will be appealed by the NCAA, as it undercuts the Age-Based Eligibility Model, the so-called “five for five” rule, which was instated in June 2026 with the intention of starting with athletes who enroll in college in fall 2027. While the NCAA builds its appeal, the transfer portal will be opened in college basketball from August 3-10 for newly eligible athletes. Sweeney’s ruling also has the potential to wreak havoc on rosters across the country — for instance, opening the possibility that an undrafted player in an NFL training camp or NBA summer league team could decide to try to head back to college for a fifth year this upcoming season. In granting the preliminary injunction, Sweeney said the players “will suffer irreparable harm without” it. She did not sign onto the governing body’s argument that applying the new rule retroactively would create “roster chaos.” But NCAA President Charlie Baker said it would in responding to the rulings while referencing a bill in Congress designed to provide the NCAA antitrust protection on the eligibility issues. “Today’s rulings and the chaos they bring to college sports are exactly why it’s time to pass this bill,” Baker said. The Colorado ruling came hours after a Tennessee court granted Jalen Washington, who most recently played at Vanderbilt, and 18 other basketball players a fifth season of eligibility. In addition to Washington, athletes such as Donovan Dent, Cade Tyson, Xaivian Lee, and more, have entered the transfer portal with the hope this ruling sticks. In June, the NCAA approved its new eligibility model for Division I athletes that will allow five seasons of competition over a five-year period that begins with their full-time enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first. While the ruling in Tennessee applied to those 19 basketball players, the one in Colorado cast a wider net, granting the class certification the plaintiffs sought. It means the ruling applies to all Division I players who started their college careers in the 2022-23 season, not just a select list. The Associated Press contributed to this report.