NCAA says allowing 5th year for some players would ‘create chaos’

The NCAA has responded to a lawsuit filed by more than a dozen college athletes who have used up their eligibility and are seeking a fifth year under recently implemented new rules.

In a response filed June 30, the NCAA said allowing those athletes to compete in a fifth year would “create chaos” and “throw the collegiate athletic landscape into turmoil.”

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The lawsuit was filed June 24 in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court on behalf of 15 college basketball players who used up their four years of eligibility at the end of the 2025-26 season. The players want to compete in the upcoming, 2026-27 season.

The previous day, the NCAA had approved an overhaul of its eligibility rules for Division I schools, allowing athletes to compete in five seasons over five years. Players previously were allowed four seasons of eligibility in five years.

Common Pleas Judge Chris Wagner on July 1 is scheduled to hear arguments about whether to issue an injunction that would allow athletes who graduated from high school in 2022 to compete in a fifth year.

The NCAA said allowing those athletes to compete in an additional year would likely take roster spots from those who already had been promised spots on those teams.

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It would destabilize teams that already have set their rosters, according to the NCAA, and affect thousands of athletes who chose schools at least partly based on how much playing time they thought would be available.

Commissioners of the major conferences – the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and Big East – signed a document supporting the NCAA.

“Allowing these student-athletes to stay and compete for an additional fifth year that their schools’ athletic departments did not previously plan for would create significant roster instability,” the commissioners said. And those athletes “would potentially take roster spots from individuals to whom the spots were previously promised,” including incoming freshmen.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ncaa-says-allowing-5th-players-215816864.html

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Publish date : 2026-06-30 21:58:00

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