NCAA’s win pauses extra year of eligibility for Class of 2022
Published 10:27 am Friday, August 21, 2026
A court ruling that gave college athletes from the high school Class of 2022 a fifth season of eligibility has been paused.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit granted a stay request on Friday in the Wisne v. NCAA class-action lawsuit, which challenged the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility rule that ran out the clock on college athletes from the high school Class of 2022 this past spring. The decision essentially pauses a preliminary injunction that granted a fifth season for the upcoming 2026-27 college season and represents a significant legal victory for the NCAA.
Two University of Washington football players — defensive lineman Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei and kicker Grady Gross — returned to practice recently in anticipation of playing a fifth season for the Huskies.
The NCAA has been fighting dozens of challenges to its new eligibility rule in court in recent weeks. Friday’s pause in the federal class-action lawsuit does not supersede court rulings in similar eligibility lawsuits at the state-court level — such as a recent win for athletes in Louisiana — but it limits the number of athletes who have access to a fifth season of eligibility, at least for the time being. The appeal process will continue in the 10th Circuit court, though it’s unlikely to get an appeal decision before the college football season kicks off next week.
For now, college athletes from the high school Class of 2022 are not NCAA eligible in 2026 unless they are covered by a separate state-court ruling, leaving thousands suddenly out of eligibility once again as the legal roller coaster continues.
“This is why it’s important for Class of 2022 athletes to be named plaintiffs in state court cases,” attorney Darren Heitner posted on social media Friday. Heitner has represented a number of athletes in the state-court eligibility suits.
In June, the NCAA adjusted its eligibility rules to allow existing and future college athletes five seasons of eligibility within a five-year period beginning when they enroll in school (or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever comes first). The rule was intended to simplify the eligibility process by eliminating redshirts and waiver requests for injuries and most other circumstances. However, the high school Class of 2022 was not included in the new rule, sparking another wave of legal challenges against the NCAA.
Athletes have been granted eligibility in a number of the state-court lawsuits, including high-profile cases in Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia and California, bringing some chaos to the college sports offseason and adding to the NCAA’s recent history of legal defeats and failure to enforce its own rules. But those rulings cover only the athletes represented in each lawsuit. The initial preliminary injunction granted by a U.S. District Court judge in Colorado in Wisne v. NCAA was significant because it extended to every college athlete in the class.
The NCAA had an earlier legal win this week when an Ohio state-court ruling was also stayed on appeal, and the NCAA will likely point to those as examples in other state-court suits.
Friday’s 10th Circuit ruling means that football players such as Indiana defensive linemen Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt and Arizona running Ismail Mahdi, who were practicing with their teams ahead of season openers, are no longer eligible. Same for men’s basketball players Seth Trimble (Louisville), Denzel Aberdeen (Florida) and MJ Collins (Cincinnati).
Texas offensive lineman Cole Hutson remains eligible under a separate state-court ruling, along with the 16 players represented in the Louisiana lawsuit, some of whom are currently on NFL rosters. Men’s basketball players Darrion Williams and RJ Godfrey also remain eligible under state-court decisions.
Herald writer Aaron Coe contributed to this report.
