Federal appeals court backs NCAA on five-year eligibility rule
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower-court order that had granted a fifth year of eligibility to the 2022 high-school class, supporting the NCAA’s new rule but leaving hundreds of state lawsuits unresolved.
Federal appeals court judges in Denver ruled Friday that the NCAA’s new five-year eligibility policy should not be applied retroactively to athletes who graduated high school in 2022. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a July district-court decision that had granted those players an extra year of eligibility, a move the NCAA said would destabilize rosters and disrupt expectations for student-athletes.
The appellate panel, writing for a three-judge panel, found that the plaintiffs failed to define a single market for all Division I athletes. Judge Carolyn McHugh noted that a football player would not consider schools without a football program as reasonable substitutes, undermining the argument that all Division I players form one market.
NCAA chief legal officer Scott Bearby praised the ruling, stating it aligns with the approach taken by every federal appellate court in similar cases. He added that the decision acknowledges the organization’s concern about retroactive rule changes.
"The decision also acknowledges the NCAA's concern that retroactively changing eligibility rules can destabilize rosters and disrupt the settled expectations of student-athletes regarding roster spots and playing time," Bearby wrote in a memo to NCAA members.
The ruling does not affect roughly 200 related cases pending in state courts, which involve up to 850 athletes. Some players, such as Texas Tech quarterback Thomas Castellanos, have already experienced roster changes as courts issue differing orders, and the start of the basketball season continues under similar uncertainty.