Colorado judge narrows injunction to fifth-year eligibility for 2022 athletes

U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney issued a clarification on Sunday that the preliminary injunction she issued on Friday applies solely to the 2022 high-school class of athletes who exhausted four seasons of eligibility, allowing them a fifth season in 2026-27. The order does not block the NCAA’s transfer rules, roster caps, or revenue-share limits that are part of the broader settlement agreement.

"The Court’s order does not enjoin the operation of transfer rules," Sweeney wrote. "As the plain language of the preliminary injunction order and this order make clear, the Court’s injunction concerns only the implementation of the Rule (as defined in the preliminary injunction order) and any Bylaw that prohibits Plaintiffs and Class Members from competing in a fifth season of collegiate athletics."

The judge also noted that the injunction does not affect the age-based component of the new eligibility model, meaning athletes who were 20 or older at the start of their five-year period remain ineligible under the ruling. The NCAA responded in a letter to its members, asserting that the decision does not override the settlement’s roster and revenue-share provisions and that it plans to appeal the injunction on an expedited basis.

The age-based eligibility system, which will begin this summer for recruits entering college in 2027, starts an athlete’s eligibility clock at initial full-time enrollment or the academic year after their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first. Earlier this summer, an Ohio judge granted a similar preliminary injunction for a group of basketball players challenging the same model, prompting additional lawsuits against the NCAA.