A federal judge in Colorado has dealt a significant blow to the NCAA's new five-year eligibility rule, ordering the association to grant an additional season of competition to athletes who began their college careers in the 2022-23 season.
Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado issued the class-wide preliminary injunction on Friday. The order requires the NCAA to create a blanket waiver that would let athletes who completed four years of eligibility under the association's previous rules play a fifth season during the upcoming year.
The ruling comes after weeks of lawsuits filed by athletes across the country who argued that the NCAA's abrupt adoption of the new rule violated their ability to earn money through name, image and likeness deals and denied them an additional year of eligibility. Several prominent names in college basketball also joined the legal fight, including a lawsuit filed Friday with more than 50 plaintiffs.
In her order, Judge Sweeney said the injunction covers athletes in the United States who began playing collegiate sports in the 2022-23 season, competed in NCAA Division I sports, and completed four years of eligibility as defined by the NCAA's prior rules by the conclusion of the 2025-26 season. Those athletes, she noted, would be barred from playing a fifth season because of the NCAA's adoption and immediate implementation of the Five-Year Eligibility Rule.
Lawyers for the athletes had argued that players who exhausted their fourth and final season under the old rules should have been grandfathered in when the new guidelines took effect earlier this month. The judge's decision now gives that group the same opportunity to play an extra year that athletes under the new rules would receive.
The injunction raises immediate practical questions for college athletics. Compliance departments on multiple campuses are already discussing what it means for football and basketball players who went undrafted in recent months and might try to return to school for another season, according to staffers. Roster space is another concern, as most football and basketball programs are already at or near capacity, though staffs could try to adjust their numbers depending on how the NCAA responds.
The ruling also arrives as the NCAA remains under scrutiny for other eligibility decisions. This week, the association upheld a two-game suspension for Tennessee linebacker Arion Carter. Carter declared for the NFL Draft after the 2025 season but suffered an injury weeks later and decided to return to college for another year. The NCAA ruled him ineligible because he had declared, hired an agent and accepted a $427 plane ticket to attend a training session. Tennessee appealed an initial three-game suspension, and the penalty was reduced to two games. The case could now become a reference point for athletic departments navigating eligibility questions.
The NCAA could appeal Judge Sweeney's decision to the Tenth Circuit Court. The organization now faces a choice between granting a blanket waiver to all athletes seeking an additional year and continuing to fight the rule in courtrooms across the country. How the NCAA responds in the coming days will likely determine whether athletes from the 2022-23 class receive a widely available extra season or whether the dispute moves to the appellate level.
