Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine made waves earlier this week when he signed an executive order allowing the state’s colleges to give Class of 2022 athletes a fifth year of eligibility, in direct defiance of NCAA rules. Now, the NCAA is taking legal action against him.
The NCAA announced that it has filed a federal lawsuit against DeWine over the order, arguing that it violates the U.S. Constitution and state law. The governing body also renewed its push for Congress to pass the Protect College Sports Act, warning of a “state-by-state and court-by-court race to the bottom.”
DeWine’s Executive Order
At the center of the fight is the Class of 2022. When the NCAA moved to its new five-years-to-play-five-seasons eligibility model, those athletes weren’t grandfathered in, meaning anyone from that class who had already played four seasons was out of eligibility, even though the classes around them got a fifth year.
On Tuesday, DeWine signed an order barring Ohio’s public and private schools from enforcing rules that keep those athletes off the field. The order doesn’t require schools to put those players on their rosters, but it gives them the option.
“When the rules change, fairness has to remain part of the equation,” DeWine said in a statement, via the Associated Press. “We want Ohio’s student-athletes to have the same opportunity as student-athletes in other states.”
Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel, the former Ohio State head coach, also backed the move, saying “it’s important we do not deprive our current student-athletes of the same opportunities enjoyed by their peers.”
NCAA Files Lawsuit
NCAA president Charlie Baker fired back the same day in a letter to member schools, saying that DeWine “cannot legislate NCAA eligibility rules.”
“One elected official seeking to make their own rules for their own schools’ advantage is a terrible way to run athletic competitions,” Baker wrote.
Baker’s letter was just the start. The NCAA is seeking injunctive and declaratory relief on three fronts, according to Thomas Goldkamp of On3.
The lawsuit argues that the order violates the Commerce Clause by giving Ohio schools an unfair advantage. Second, it claims the order violates the First Amendment by giving Ohio schools legal cover to stay in the NCAA while breaking its rules. Finally, it argues that the order violates state law.
“If state courts – or governors – can unilaterally change the rules to give certain schools competitive advantages, it will become impossible for all schools to compete on a level playing field,” the NCAA said in a statement. “While we are confident our complaint will succeed in federal court, the answer to this state-by-state and court-by-court race to the bottom is the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act.”
The NCAA also argued that giving the Class of 2022 another year would come at the expense of other athletes.
“The NCAA respects and honors the accomplishments of athletes whose eligibility expired in the 2025–26 academic year, and wishes them all the best in the future,” the statement continued. “But allowing them to return for an unexpected fifth season of competition would give them a benefit they never reasonably could have expected, to the detriment of thousands of eligible student-athletes who have been waiting for their opportunity to compete.”
The Ohio fight is just the latest chapter in the NCAA’s eligibility battle, with similar lawsuits filed across the country. Needless to say, it doesn’t look like this one is going away anytime soon.
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