A court ruling in Denver has granted an additional year of NCAA eligibility to college athletes from the high school Class of 2022. Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney of the U.S. District Court in Colorado issued a class-wide preliminary injunction affecting those athletes whose standard four years of college eligibility recently ended.

NCAA Eligibility Ruling

Sweeney wrote that the affected athletes are entitled to a fifth year, putting them on par with the prior class that got an extra year due to the COVID pandemic, and subsequent classes, which will get another year under the NCAA’s new regulations. The “5-for-5 rule” gives student-athletes incoming for the 2026-27 school year five years of eligibility over a five-year span.

Athletes from the high school Class of 2022 filed suit, asking that the change apply to them, too. The judge agreed with the plaintiffs, stating that they will suffer irreparable harm without issuance of an injunction and that the balance of equities, as well as the public interest, favor them.

NCAA president Charlie Baker reacted to Sweeney’s ruling by urging Congress to approve the Protect College Sports Act. Baker stated that without targeted intervention from Congress, college sports cannot set nationwide rules everyone can play by, and that failed professionals will continue to use college sports as a fallback option, robbing the next class of young athletes of college scholarships.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.