The NCAA scored a major legal victory on Friday after an appeals court reversed an injunction that would have permitted athletes from the 2022 class to gain a fifth season despite new eligibility mandates from the collegiate governing body.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Colorado overturned a nationwide preliminary injunction from July that cleared the path to a fifth year of eligibility based on a lawsuit by Brock Wisne, who played basketball for Northern Colorado and was joined by 11 other athletes as plaintiffs.
As part of a wave of reforms in June, the NCAA changed its rules to cap eligibility at five years, while 2022 student athletes were impacted. The move triggered the Wisne antitrust, which claimed that the NCAA prevented opportunities for members of the 2022 class.
Circuit Judge Carolyn B. McHugh wrote on behalf of herself and judges Paul J. Kelly and Nancy L. Moritz saying that the lower court’s injunction against the NCAA did not constitute a sufficient antitrust description and that plaintiffs from the 2020 class were being obstructed from generating their own prospects.
“Because a market defined as all Division I athletics in the United States is not plausible, the district court clearly erred in accepting Plaintiffs’ market definition.”
McHugh also explained that the NCAA as a governing body does not directly treat student athletes as employees and that the institutions under its jurisdiction nationally are responsible for building out the roster structures and rules of their respective sports teams.
“The NCAA itself (i.e., the central administrative organization) is not one of ‘those employers’ because it does not hire athletes to compete on its behalf.”
Following the preliminary injunction by district court judge Charlotte N. Sweeney on July 31, numerous players from the 2022 class found their way onto rosters due to favorable rulings in state courts even as the NCAA filed an appeal with the Tenth Circuit days later on August 3.
Later in the month, the athletes asked the Tenth Circuit to expedite the case, which was approved as oral arguments began in late September through October.
After Friday’s decision, the NCAA praised the court’s action even though the battle over its own rule mandates will likely push past the current season and the remainder of the academic year.
“The decision also acknowledges the NCAA’s concern that retroactively changing eligibility rules can destabilize rosters and disrupt the settled expectations of student-athletes regarding roster spots and playing time,” NCAA chief legal officer Scott Bearby said in a memo to the organization’s members. “NCAA rules are adopted through a deliberative governance process involving member institutions, conferences and student-athlete representatives.”
Despite the ruling, the ongoing conversation over eligibility rules will persist with numerous lawsuits in state courts as legislators weigh in both sides of the argument.
Last month, the NCAA sued Ohio governor Mike DeWine over his state executive order that permitted public and private universities in the state to allow student athletes who entered college in the 2022 class to play.
DeWine’s order came weeks after the Protect College Sports Act, a bipartisan bill that passed in the Senate 77-22, which focused heavily on a major overhaul of college sports and targeted eligibility rules, NIL and how schools take on funding.
“Although plaintiffs may seek additional review and certain proceedings remain pending before the district court, today’s decision vacates the injunction in full and represents another appellate court’s recognition that the extraordinary remedy of injunctive relief was unwarranted,” the NCAA continued in its statement. “It is well past time for schools, coaches and student-athletes to have certainty regarding the applicable eligibility framework and to continue the season in compliance with the rules adopted to ensure fair competition.”
