Key facts
- A federal appeals court has temporarily halted a lower court's order that would have given thousands of college athletes an extra year of eligibility.
- The athletes affected are those who graduated high school in 2022 and whose eligibility concluded last season.
- The NCAA's new rule grants most players five years of eligibility starting next season, excluding this group.
- The appeals court's 2-1 decision delays the eligibility extension until a full appeal can be heard.
- The NCAA argued that reinstating players would be unfair to current athletes and schools that finalized rosters.
A federal appeals court has temporarily paused a ruling that would have allowed thousands of college athletes who graduated in 2022 an extra year of eligibility, just days before the college football season is set to begin. The lawsuit was brought by players whose eligibility ended last season and who were not included in the NCAA's new five-year eligibility rule that starts next season.
The 2-1 decision by the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver puts the district court's previous ruling on hold pending a full appeal. This move aims to mitigate the chaos caused by various court decisions across the country that had cleared the way for players in multiple sports to return.
Plaintiffs argued for fairness, stating they should not be denied a fifth year of eligibility and associated educational and NIL opportunities that younger players are entitled to. The NCAA countered that allowing thousands of previously ineligible athletes back would be unfair to current student-athletes and schools that had already finalized their rosters based on existing rules.
Scott Bearby, the NCAA's chief legal officer, informed member schools that athletes competing under the prior injunction would not face punishment. However, he reiterated that these players are no longer eligible. The NCAA acknowledged it is continuing to defend similar lawsuits in state courts, indicating that the confusion surrounding eligibility rules is not fully resolved and further appeals are likely.