NCAA Ohio Lawsuit: Governor Sued Over Fifth-Year Order

The NCAA Ohio lawsuit is the kind of fight college sports has never seen before. On Friday, the NCAA filed a federal suit against Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, and according to CBS Sports, it is the first time in collegiate sports history that the association has taken a sitting state governor to court. The target is an executive order that lets Ohio schools ignore the NCAA's newest eligibility rule.

What the governor did

DeWine signed Executive Order 2026-04D earlier this week, three days before the lawsuit landed, as reported by the Associated Press. The order gives Ohio's public and private colleges the option to let athletes who graduated high school in twenty twenty-two play a fifth season, even though the NCAA's new guidance leaves those athletes out.

DeWine framed it as a fairness play. "When the rules change, fairness has to remain part of the equation," he said in a statement quoted by Athletic Business. Lieutenant Governor Jim Tressel told ESPN it was important not to deprive current athletes of the same opportunities their peers enjoy. According to CBS Sports, all eight Division I programs in Ohio reportedly backed the order.

The rule at the center of the chaos

The NCAA passed an age-based eligibility model in June, often called five-for-five. It gives athletes five years of eligibility tied to their age or enrollment and wipes out traditional redshirts and most waivers for extra years. The catch is that it only applies to athletes who still had eligibility left, and it explicitly excludes people whose eligibility ran out in the twenty twenty-five to twenty twenty-six school year, according to Bloomberg Law.

That cutoff is why so many athletes from the high school class of twenty twenty-two feel shut out. Many of them had their final season end last year and now can't earn name, image and likeness money or revenue-sharing payments from their schools. Several have gone to court, including a basketball player named Brock Wisne, who filed a federal class-action suit arguing the exclusion violates antitrust law, per AP.

Why the NCAA is suing

NCAA President Charlie Baker called the lawsuit an extraordinary step, saying the board directed it because the order tries to force schools to ignore rules they agreed to follow. The forty-one-page complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, lays out three separate arguments.

First, the NCAA says the order burdens interstate commerce in violation of the Commerce Clause by giving in-state schools an advantage. Second, it argues the order violates the First Amendment by giving Ohio institutions legal cover to keep NCAA membership while flouting its rules. Third, it says the governor simply lacks the authority under Ohio law to let colleges roster ineligible athletes. Baker's message to member schools earlier in the week was blunt: a governor cannot legislate NCAA eligibility rules.

A messy legal map

This is only the latest chapter in a patchwork of courtroom battles. Two weeks before the order, an Ohio appeals court rejected a lawsuit from athletes who had used up their eligibility. In reaction to the governor's move, the Ohio Supreme Court said it will step in to decide whether the executive order is legal and paused the appeals court ruling that had declared the class of twenty twenty-two athletes ineligible, AP reported.

The fallout is spreading beyond Columbus. Tennessee athletic director Danny White publicly criticized how the NCAA handled the rule change, according to the Tennessean. Other states could try copying Ohio's playbook, which would turn eligibility into a state-by-state puzzle where an athlete's chance to play depends on a zip code.

What it means for athletes

For players, the stakes are painfully practical: a roster spot, a scholarship, a chance at NIL deals, and another year of education. A federal judge could soon decide whether Ohio schools can use the fifth-year option while the case plays out, and that ruling will shape rosters in football and basketball this season.

Whatever the outcome, the NCAA Ohio lawsuit shows how far the old power structure of college sports has slipped. Athletes are suing, states are legislating by executive order, and the governing body is now suing a governor to protect its own rulebook. Expect more twists, and expect them fast.

For more on the big fights shaping sports and power right now, browse our politics coverage. The next hearing in federal court will show whether the NCAA can hold the line on its rulebook, or whether states will keep carving out exceptions one executive order at a time. Either way, the NCAA Ohio lawsuit has put the future of college eligibility squarely in the hands of judges.