Athletes who graduated high school in the class of 2022 have been granted a preliminary injunction to play a fifth season, Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the US District Court of Colorado ruled Friday evening.
The NCAA's Division I Cabinet unanimously passed the 5-for-5 rule last month, but only applied it moving forward. That decision cast the high school class of 2022 as the "forgotten class": too young to receive a covid year (but still competing against many players who received an extra year due to the pandemic), but too old for the 5-for-5. The class of 2023, set to be 4th-year seniors this upcoming year, would be the first to play a fifth year under the policy approved back on June 23.
Judge Sweeney found the harm significant enough to grant the injunction.
"(The plaintiffs) will suffer irreparable harm without issuance of aninjunction. And the balance of equities, as well as the public interest, favor them. They are entitled to the injunctive relief they seek," Sweeney wrote.
“Consistent with the above analysis, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs’ Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, ECF No. 19. DATED this 31st day of July 2026."
It's expected that Friday's injunction will apply primarily to winter and spring sport athletes. In football, TCU has already opened training camp and many more begin Monday. Assuredly, most of the thousands of football players who exhausted their eligibility after last season have moved on with their lives, and teams will have filled their rosters without the 2022s in mind.
Some will return, though. Texas offensive lineman Cole Hutson was granted a temporary restraining order last week and re-joined the Longhorns, but had another hearing scheduled for Aug. 10. Hutson had returned to workout with his former team, despite mini-camping with the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys. That hearing is now likely to be moot with Judge Sweeney granting to Hutson and all players like him on Friday.
Getting some questions about scope: because the court granted class certification, the injunction applies to all athletes who meet the definition in the screenshot attached here.
— Sam C. Ehrlich (@samcehrlich) July 31, 2026
There is no limitation on sport. pic.twitter.com/xGWYrZmWPH
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