NCAA responds to Colorado judge’s clarification on class-wide injunction, releases statement

The NCAA has responded to a Colorado judge’s clarification on the class-wide injunction of the age-based eligibility model. Scott Bearby, NCAA Chief Legal Officer, said an athlete must be “within five years of when they first enrolled at any college or turned 19.”

>“The District Court of Colorado has granted the NCAA’s motion to clarify the injunction and make clear that the House’s Settlement’s roster limits and benefits cap remain fully in effect,” Bearby wrote, per On3’s Pete Nakos. “According to the Court’s order, class members’ eligibility to participate will be determined by application of the age-based eligibility rule – in other words, they must be within five years of when they first enrolled at any college or turned 19, whichever occurred earlier.

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>“All other NCAA eligibility rules, including rules regarding professional participation, remain in effect; as the court made it clear, it was not ruling on any bylaws not presented to the court. We now intend to pursue the appellate process and seek a stay of the Court’s order as soon as possible.”

>On Sunday, U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney clarified her class-wide injunction against the NCAA in a new court filing. On Friday, Sweeney ruled that all high school class of 2022 athletes who exhausted their fourth year of college eligibility this spring would be eligible for the 2026-27 season.

Multiple basketball players were granted injunctions against NCAA to play in 2026-27“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’s clarification and the NCAA’s response come after multiple basketball players were granted injunctions against the NCAA to play in 2026-27. The players who are now eligible are Memphis‘ Dug McDaniel, Ole Miss‘ AJ Storr, Vanderbilt‘s Jalen Washington, and SMU‘s BJ Edwards.

>The NCAA’s age-based model calls for an athlete’s eligibility clock to start at the beginning of the academic year following the athlete’s 19th birthday or the initial full-time enrollment in college. The implementation will begin this summer.

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