Court halts order, denies extra year of eligibility - ESPN

The NCAA won an important battle Friday in the ongoing legal war to determine who should be allowed to play college sports in the upcoming season.

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the NCAA a stay Friday morning in an order that reverses the federal judge's decision that previously opened the door for all athletes who started college in the 2022-23 academic year and played for four consecutive seasons to return for a fifth season. The stay does not wipe out the dozens of athletes who have successfully petitioned for restraining orders to play a fifth season in state courts around the country.

The appeals court decision could spark more lawsuits, restraining order requests and confusion with only two weeks remaining before college football season begins in full force.

The NCAA changed its eligibility rules earlier this year to allow all college athletes to play five seasons during a five-year window that opens the year after they finish high school or turn 19 years old. The previous NCAA rules allowed athletes to play four seasons during a five-year window. The change created a specific group of outgoing seniors who played in each of their four years who were out of eligibility under the old rules but would be eligible for another season if the new rule applied to them.

The NCAA's Division I Board of Directors decided in June that their new rules would not apply to outgoing seniors, saying that an influx of unexpected veterans returning to campus would unfairly take opportunities away from incoming freshmen who had already signed to play with their new schools before the rule change was made. Since then, at least a dozen different groups comprising more than 100 total outgoing seniors have sued the NCAA in