U.S. Sweeney granted a class-wide preliminary injunction in Denver on July 31, 2026, ordering the NCAA to grant athletes from the high school Class of 2022 an additional year of eligibility for the upcoming school year following a legal challenge against the organization’s new age-based rules.
Sweeney of the U.S. District Court in Colorado issued a preliminary injunction on Friday, July 31, 2026. The ruling covers student-athletes across the United States who began playing in collegiate sports during the 2022–2023 academic season, competed in NCAA Division I athletics, and exhausted their traditional four years of eligibility under prior rules by the conclusion of the 2025–2026 academic year.
Federal Injunction Upends NCAA Eligibility Rules
The legal clash centers on the NCAA’s newly approved age-based eligibility model, known as the 5-for-5 rule
, which was implemented in June. Under the new policy, incoming student-athletes receive a five-year eligibility window tied to their age and full-time enrollment—guaranteeing five years over a five-year span—while eliminating most waiver exceptions. However, the governing body scheduled the implementation date for August 1, leaving athletes from the high school Class of 2022 stranded. Sandwiched between athletes who received extra time due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent classes protected by the new guidelines, these players faced expiration of their eligibility without fallback options.
Plaintiffs filed a class-action lawsuit arguing that the retroactive enforcement of the new model violated federal antitrust law and infringed upon their rights to secure Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) compensation. The NCAA countered that altering the rules retroactively would destabilize college sports. Judge Sweeney rejected that defense, writing in her decision that the affected athletes would suffer irreparable harm without court intervention.
“They will suffer irreparable harm without issuance of an injunction. And the balance of equities, as well as the public interest, favor them. They are entitled to the injunctive relief they seek.”
Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney, U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
State Court Rulings and Immediate Roster Pressures
The Colorado decision arrived alongside similar legal actions across the country. On the same day, a Tennessee state court issued an injunction benefiting prominent men’s basketball players including Vanderbilt’s Jalen Washington and Ole Miss guard AJ Storr, while also clearing the way for those athletes to transfer. Earlier in July, an Ohio state court granted an injunction favoring 15 men’s basketball players—a suit initiated less than 24 hours after the NCAA announced its policy change.
In Cincinnati, Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Chris Wagner granted a preliminary injunction on Thursday, July 10, for more than a dozen players, declaring that the NCAA’s enforcement failed to promote fair competition. That local ruling positioned the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University to potentially incorporate returning talent, though the University of Cincinnati declined immediate comment as compliance departments evaluated the scope of the order.
NCAA Response and Congressional Push for Legislation
NCAA President Charlie Baker responded to the wave of judicial rulings by issuing a public statement that demanded immediate intervention from federal lawmakers on the Protect College Sports Act. The Big Ten and SEC threw their support behind the legislative push on Friday.
“Without targeted intervention from Congress, college sports cannot set nationwide rules everyone can play by and without Congress, failed professionals will continue to use college sports as a fallback option — robbing the next class of young athletes of college scholarships. Today’s rulings and the chaos they bring to college sports are exactly why it’s time to pass this bill.”
Charlie Baker, NCAA President