CINCINNATI (AP) 鈥� An Ohio judge has granted a preliminary injunction for 24 men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 college basketball players suing the NCAA for eligibility, claiming the new unfairly shuts them out of further competition.
Judge Christopher Wagner said Thursday the NCAA eligibility rules have been applied to 2022 high school graduates in an arbitrary and capricious manner, adding the plaintiffs would suffer 鈥渋rreparable injury鈥� without an injunction.
鈥淲e hope the NCAA reconsiders its position and allows all other similarly situated athletes from the high school class of 2022 to compete for remaining roster spots in all sports,鈥� attorney Ryan Downton said.
Wagner’s ruling allows the athletes in the lawsuit an opportunity to enter the transfer portal. He scheduled a conference for Aug. 4 to prepare for a trial.
鈥淲hile we will seek to overturn this ruling, it is now apparent that Congress must act swiftly to restore stability, uniformity, and fair competition in college athletics,鈥� the NCAA said in a statement.
The has moved forward with Senate committee approval in June. However, the Big Ten and Southeastern conferences oppose the bill designed to stabilize and are seeking revisions.
Downton has filed similar lawsuits against the NCAA on behalf of nearly 30 men’s and women’s basketball players.
The lawsuit in Cincinnati was filed shortly after the a monumental change in eligibility rules last month.
鈥淲hen each plaintiff completed their fourth season of competition during the 2025-26 academic year, they had every reason to know it was the end of the line and time to make way for the next generation of college athletes,鈥� the NCAA wrote in a filing.
The plaintiffs are seeking to be eligible to play a fifth year during the upcoming season, representing athletes who graduated from high school in 2022 and began their college sports careers that autumn and never redshirted.
鈥淓ach plaintiff was harmed each time he or she competed in a basketball game against a fifth or sixth-year player without being offered the same opportunity to compete in a fifth season themselves,鈥� Downtown wrote in a filing.
The NCAA now allows athletes over a five-year period that begins with their full-time enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first.
The move will all but eliminate waivers or redshirt years for extended eligibility except for religious missions, pregnancy or active-duty military service. Extensions will no longer be considered for athletes who are injured.
Athletes whose eligibility expired by spring 2026 under the traditional model 鈥� four years of competition over five years 鈥� will not be allowed a fifth year of competition under the new rules that go into effect this fall.
The Division I Cabinet has said in a that it was aware of legal action challenging its decision and that 鈥渨e do not intend to change course.鈥�
Three basketball players, including Xavier forward Filip Borovicanin of Serbia, and three coaches, including Xavier coach Richard Pitino, along with an agent testified at a hearing in Cincinnati earlier this month, while the NCAA did not call any witnesses.
Wagner appeared to be critical of the NCAA in his written ruling, saying the governing body resembles 鈥渁 highly profitable professional sports league,” more than its argument of being a voluntary association.
鈥淭he court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that plaintiffs will suffer irreparable injury if the preliminary injunction is not granted,鈥� Wagner said.
The NCAA said the decision was wrong.
鈥淲e will immediately seek all avenues for reversal, including a stay of the court鈥檚 order pending appeal,鈥� the NCAA said. 鈥淭he court disregarded over a century of precedent and substituted its own judgment, on a limited factual record, for the collective expertise of the nation鈥檚 leading higher education institutions.鈥�
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