The NCAA has filed a federal lawsuit against Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, escalating a dispute over a state directive that gives Ohio colleges and universities the choice of granting an extra year of athletic eligibility to a specific group of student-athletes.
The legal action, reported by ESPN, came three days after DeWine signed an executive order permitting the state's higher education institutions to allow athletes who graduated from high school in 2022 to compete for a fifth year.
The order applies to athletes whose high school graduating class was 2022, a group whose college careers were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the governor's directive, Ohio schools may choose whether to extend eligibility to those athletes, a decision that conflicts with the NCAA's national eligibility framework.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court, represents a direct challenge to the state's authority to override NCAA rules. The case raises questions about whether individual states can set eligibility standards that differ from those applied nationally, potentially creating a patchwork of rules across college sports.
For Ohio's colleges and universities, the outcome could determine whether they face NCAA sanctions for following the governor's order or legal exposure for ignoring it. Athletes who graduated high school in 2022 now face uncertainty about whether they will be permitted to compete for a fifth season.
The NCAA has not commented publicly on the specifics of the filing beyond confirming the lawsuit. The case will now proceed through the federal court system, with potential implications for college athletics programs nationwide.
