Judge Denies Restraining Order in Suit by 15 College Basketball Players Challenging NCAA Eligibility Rule

Fifteen college basketball players filed a lawsuit in Ohio state court in Cincinnati on June 24 challenging a new NCAA Division I eligibility rule approved the previous day. The suit seeks temporary and permanent injunctive relief that would grant a fifth year of competition to athletes who graduated high school in 2022 and began college that fall without redshirting.

It allows athletes five seasons of competition over a five-year period that begins with full-time enrollment or the academic year after their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first. The rule takes effect in fall 2026 and eliminates waivers or redshirt years for extended eligibility except for religious missions, pregnancy or active-duty military service.

Injuries will no longer qualify for extensions.

Athletes whose eligibility expired by spring 2026 under the traditional four-in-five model receive no fifth year. A judge denied the plaintiffs' request for a temporary restraining order hours after the filing. A hearing on their request for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for the following Wednesday.

Nine of the plaintiffs have played or planned to play next season at Ohio schools, and the rest have played multiple games in the state. The complaint alleges the new rule "unjustifiably restrains their ability to earn money through use of their name, image, and likeness ('NIL') connected to their work as Division I athletes," according to attorneys Ryan Downton and Charles Rittgers.

It states that the plaintiffs do not challenge the five-for-five concept itself but object to its application, which grants an extra year to classes of 2017-20 and 2023-25 while denying it to the Class of 2022.