A Hamilton County judge will decide whether to allow a fifth year of eligibility for some college athletes, including two who played on Xavier University’s men’s basketball team and two who hope to play this season for the University of Cincinnati.
The four are among 15 college basketball players who are part of a lawsuit filed June 24, seeking to prevent the NCAA from enforcing new rules it approved the previous day. The NCAA described it as a “sweeping overhaul” of its eligibility rules.
Division I college athletes now will be allowed to compete in five seasons over five years. Previously, athletes could play four seasons within five years and were allowed to sit out for a “redshirt” year.
Attorneys for the 15 players are seeking an injunction that would block the NCAA from preventing them from playing during the 2026-27 season.
Ryan Downton of The Texas Trial Group, who is heading the litigation, said the Hamilton County lawsuit is the first of five he expects to file in different states surrounding the issue.
Common Pleas Judge Chris Wagner held a hearing on June 24, at which attorneys for the parties appeared by video. Wagner scheduled a full hearing about an injunction for July 1.
An attorney for the athletes, Charlie Rittgers, told Wagner that an injunction is important so the players can begin practicing with their teams.
What the lawsuit alleges
The lawsuit says that the rules unfairly exclude athletes who graduated from high school in 2022, even though those athletes are within five years of enrolling in college for the first time.
That means athletes who used their final season of eligibility in 2025-26 will not receive additional eligibility.
“At the end of their college careers, the NCAA made the fifth season of competition a permanent rule change – but excluded their class from the benefits of the change,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit points out that under the new rules, a 2022 high school graduate who played professionally during the 2022-23 school year would be allowed to play in the upcoming season. But a 2022 high school graduate who went straight to college and played even a single minute of basketball would not be allowed to play
In an interview, Downton said he hopes the NCAA changes the rules so that everyone who graduated high school in 2022 can play in the upcoming season.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include Filip Borovicanin and Malik Messina-Moore who played for Xavier as seniors for the 2025-26 season, as well as former Utah State players MJ Collins Jr. and Kolby King who intend to play for the University of Cincinnati this season.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: First lawsuit challenging new NCAA eligibility rules filed in Ohio
Reporting by Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
