The NCAA won a federal appeals court decision Friday reversing a lower-court order that granted high school Class of 2022 athletes a retroactive fifth year of eligibility.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the July ruling by a U.S. district court in Wisne v. NCAA. That court had applied the NCAA’s updated five-year eligibility rule to athletes who finished high school in 2022 — even though the NCAA stated the rule was meant to apply only to future classes.
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The appeals court decision resolves this federal case. It does not affect approximately 200 pending state court lawsuits involving as many as 850 athletes.
Judge Carolyn McHugh, writing for the three-judge panel, rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that all Division I athletes compete in a single, unified market. She observed that a football player would not consider schools without football programs realistic alternatives when evaluating roster opportunities.
NCAA chief legal officer Scott Bearby said the ruling aligns with decisions from other federal appeals courts. In internal communications with member institutions, he emphasized that retroactively changing eligibility rules risks disrupting roster planning and student-athlete expectations about playing time and roster spots.
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