NCAA sued by 11 athletes over eligibility rules

Myron MedcalfJul 13, 2026, 12:13 PM ET

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Covers college basketball

Joined ESPN.com in 2011

Graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato

The NCAA is facing a federal class action lawsuit against its new eligibility rules.

Eleven Division I athletes, including Division I basketball standouts Cade Tyson and Brock Wisne, have filed a federal class action lawsuit in Colorado that alleges the NCAA's new eligibility rules have adversely affected their ability to extend their college careers and the NIL benefits attached to that opportunity.

The NCAA recently announced an eligibility rule change that grants all athletes five years to compete, but it did not grant athletes who exhausted their eligibility in the 2025-26 campaign an additional season.

If successful, the federal lawsuit could essentially nullify the NCAA's new eligibility rules for a massive pool of athletes across all sports who would then be allowed to enter the transfer portal and extend their careers.

With football season set to begin in a month, a ruling in favor of these athletes could alter the college landscape for the upcoming season. If it's defeated, it could also signal a significant ruling in favor of the NCAA, which has faced numerous state lawsuits already regarding its new eligibility rules.

"These athletes aren't asking for special treatment," said Rob Shelquist, a partner at Cuneo Gilbert Flannery & LaDuca, LLP, in a statement. "They're asking to not be singled out and excluded from the NCAA's eligibility framework. The NCAA updated the rules but refused to apply them only to the very group that was most immediately affected. If the NCAA has determined that five years of eligibility is the fair rule for college athletes, then athletes who would still be eligible but for completing four years of eligibility should not be deprived of the same educational, athletic, and NIL opportunities."

Last week, an Ohio judge granted 24 men's and women's college basketball players a preliminary injunction to continue their college careers and enter the transfer portal after they'd been ruled ineligible by the NCAA after they alleged the NCAA's new system unfairly impacts them.

After that decision, the NCAA's Division I cabinet said "we do not intend to change course" in a statement posted on X.

The federal class action lawsuit filed Monday entails similar claims from the athletes who allege they've been "arbitrarily singled out" by the NCAA's new eligibility rules.

"Plaintiffs are a talented group of NCAA Division I collegiate athletes and students who come to this Court as a last resort and as a direct result of the NCAA's unlawful action in implementing a new eligibility rule on June 24, 2026 (hereinafter the 'Five-Year Eligibility Rule') in a manner designed to prevent Plaintiffs from playing their sports at an NCAA member college or university for the 2026-2027 season," the federal class action complaint states.

"Unless the Court grants Plaintiffs both immediate and lasting relief, Plaintiffs will incur significant irreparable harm and monetary damages. More specifically, Plaintiffs will forever lose the opportunity to complete the remainder of their collegiate careers alongside their teammates who will benefit from the rule change--as well as significant Name, Image, and Likeness ("NIL") compensation that is contingent on them playing this next season. And in some cases, despite the NCAA's stated concern for athletes' educational opportunities, Plaintiffs will lose the scholarships and opportunities that they are counting on to finish their desired degrees."

The NCAA's new eligibility rules will dramatically shift the athletic climate in college sports, as most waivers and redshirts will be eliminated with few exceptions. In college basketball, international players have been key additions across the landscape but the new ruling means older players from overseas will no longer enjoy the same opportunities, as the new eligibility clock for all athletes will begin when they enroll in college or the semester after they turn 19.