COLUMBUS — The NCAA sued Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in federal court on Friday morning, asking a judge to block an executive order that directs Ohio colleges to let Class of 2022 athletes play a fifth season even though the association’s rules say they are no longer eligible.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. In its own announcement, the NCAA said the filing was made at the direction of its Board of Governors and Division I Board of Directors, and that it seeks both injunctive and declaratory relief against enforcement of the order.
The association argues the order breaks the law in three ways. It says the order burdens interstate commerce by giving Ohio schools an advantage over schools in other states, it says the order violates the First Amendment by purporting to give Ohio schools legal cover to keep their NCAA membership while ignoring NCAA rules, and it says the order violates Ohio law because the governor does not have authority to set aside eligibility rules the schools agreed to follow.
DeWine signed the executive order earlier this week. It covers athletes in the Class of 2022 who have used up their NCAA eligibility, and it directs Ohio institutions not to enforce the NCAA restrictions that would keep those athletes off the field or court for the 2026-27 year.
The dispute grew out of a change the NCAA made this summer to an age-based eligibility model. The new model gives athletes entering with the Class of 2023 up to five seasons, but it was not applied retroactively to the Class of 2022, whose members finished their fourth season last spring. Athletes from that class have filed a series of lawsuits around the country seeking a fifth year.
In Ohio, the fight is already in the state courts as well. The Ohio Supreme Court this week stayed an appeals court ruling in a case involving University of Cincinnati and Xavier players, kept that relief in place for now, and ordered supplemental briefs by Oct. 19 on what effect the governor’s order has on the case. One of the Xavier players in that case started an exhibition game on Thursday.
No judge has ruled yet on the NCAA’s new federal request, which asks the court to declare the executive order unlawful and without force of law. Until a court acts, Ohio colleges, coaches and Class of 2022 athletes are left with competing directions — a governor’s order telling schools they may roster the players, and a national association telling schools the players remain ineligible — with the regular season set to begin in early November.