NCAA gets a victory in fifth-year eligibility lawsuit as messy court fights continue

These days, it's hard for anyone to keep up with the latest NCAA eligibility mess. The saga continued on Friday, as the NCAA won a stay in a previous class-action lawsuit granted by a federal judge in Colorado last month. 

On July 31, Federal Judge Charlotte Sweeney's ruling as a result of a class-action lawsuit filed in Colorado granted all athletes who started their careers in 2022-23 to be eligible for a fifth season. The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit granted the NCAA's stay request on Sweeney's ruling. According to On3Sports, an expedited appeal hearing has been set. 

However, this stay does not affect Wednesday's eligibility ruling, which granted former Ole Miss players, as well as former South Carolina safety DQ Smith a fifth year of eligibility. The temporary restraining order was granted stemming from a separate lawsuit filed in Louisiana state court. The TRO allowed 16 football players, several of which are now with NFL teams, to gain an additional year of eligibility.  

Judge Sweeney's ruling, as well as the succeeding lawsuits, stems from the NCAA's age-based eligibility rule change announced in June. With the change, athletes were allowed to have five years of eligibility, starting from a player's graduation from high school or 19th birthday, whichever comes first. Previously, the NCAA gave players five years to use four years of eligibility. 

Per The Athletic, the athletes that are affected as a result of the stay include Indiana defensive linemen Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt and Arizona running back Ismail Mahdi. 

The Louisiana TRO included three former Ole Miss players in Dae'Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris and Wydett Williams, former LSU and Florida linebacker Jack Plyburn and Notre Dame defensive lineman Junior Tuihalamaka. Several of the guys are currently on NFL rosters, including Wright, Williams and former Oregon State running back Anthony Hankerson. Wright plays for the Cleveland Browns, Williams the Arizona Cardinals and Hankerson the Seattle Seahawks. The transfer portal window for those athletes opened on Thursday.  

Plyburn is on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and even registered two sacks during Tampa's preseason 24-16 win over the New York Jets last weekend. Smith reportedly tried out for the Minnesota Vikings in August, but he appears to currently not be on an NFL roster.

NFL teams' final roster cuts will take place on Aug. 30. Players looking to return to college from the league are reportedly expected to be released by their contracts by Sept. 1.  

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey took a stand against NFL player returning to college in a statement provided by ESPN:

"Permitting former professional athletes to return to competition creates a competitive disadvantage and fundamental unfairness for current student-athletes who have not pursued a professional sports career but instead have maintained their commitment to the collegiate athletics model," Sankey stated.

As previously noted, this stay has already been given an appeal hearing, so the legal fight will continue. This is one of the few legal victories, however small, for the NCAA, as several court rulings continue to side with athletes. The eligibility crisis has turned into a public relations nightmare for the NCAA, and it sounds like the mess will only continue in the coming weeks. One lesson we can take away from all of this is that billable hours remain undefeated.

Sequel Patterson's electric playmaking could solve South Carolina's WR depth woes

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow