Federal Court Ruling Adds New Twist to NCAA's 5-for-5 Rollout

A federal court created additional uncertainty around the NCAA’s new eligibility rule Friday when it deemed that high school class of 2022 athletes are eligible for a fifth season this school year.

Expected to be appealed, the ruling from U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney in Denver goes against the NCAA’s plan to implement the 5-for-5 rule starting with athletes who enroll in college in fall 2027.

In lacrosse, that means there’s merit to the legal action taken by a group of players that includes a notable Syracuse contingent.

Last week, USA Lacrosse Magazine contributor Dan Arestia reported Joey Spallina, Billy Dwan III, Luke Rhoa, Michael Leo and Finn Thomson were named plaintiffs in a separate lawsuit seeking an injunction that would allow them to return to college lacrosse.

Inside Lacrosse then reported that Spallina and Dwan were no longer part of an amended suit that added Jacksonville’s Aaron Toguri to the list of plaintiffs. All the named players have signed professional lacrosse contracts and competed for teams in the Premier Lacrosse League or Major Series Lacrosse this summer.

In granting the preliminary injunction in Wisne et al v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, Sweeney said the 11 Division I athletes “will suffer irreparable harm without it.”

NCAA chief legal officer Scott Bearby condemned the decision as one that would “invite further chaos in college sports” in a memo released Saturday.

Concurrently, the Protect College Sports Act is gaining steam as a congressional solution to the legal entropy that has plagued the NCAA in recent years. The Big Ten and SEC announced support for the bipartisan U.S. Senate bill that would codify NIL and revenue sharing, standardize transfer and athlete eligibility rules, grant the NCAA and athletic conferences antitrust protection, mandates certain athlete and non-revenue sport protections and regulates agent activity around college sports.