College sports in 2026: The day after the powers that be waved in a 24-team College Football Playoff, the NCAA made an announcement that began like this...
This morning, at the direction of the NCAA Board of Governors and Division I Board of Directors, the NCAA took the extraordinary step of suing the Governor of Ohio.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued an executive order earlier this week declaring each of the state's colleges and universities the option to roster class of 2022 athletes, who were not grandfathered in after the NCAA passed its 5-for-5 eligibility rule over the summer.
The NCAA argues DeWine violates the US Constitution by giving Ohio schools an advantage over other states, and that he does not have the authority to override NCAA rules.
"I know something about this. Governors are expected to turn square corners and act within their authority. The Executive Order is unlawful because Governor DeWine lacks the authority to permit Ohio colleges and universities to disregard the rules they have agreed to follow by rostering ineligible student-athletes," NCAA president Charlie Baker, formerly the governor of Massachusetts said Friday.
"If state courts – or governors – can unilaterally change the rules to give certain schools competitive advantages, it will become impossible for all schools to compete on a level playing field."
Baker went on to argue for the passage of the Protect College Sports Act, which would federalize the age-based eligibility rule that the NCAA recently passed.
As the NCAA's announcement devolves into legalese, a plain English question now comes to mind:
Why is the NCAA fighting so hard to keep the 2022s out? Why not just give up the fight and let them play?
Because the dozens, even hundreds, of class of 2022 athletes attempting to sue their way back into college athletics is still a drop in the bucket compared to the tens of thousands of 2022s who are not doing so, and a not-insignificant portion of that class would attempt to come back to college athletics if it doing so no longer required a lawyer and a court date.
"The NCAA respects and honors the accomplishments of athletes whose eligibility expired in the 2025–26 academic year, and wishes them all the best in the future. But allowing them to return for an unexpected fifth season of competition would give them a benefit they never reasonably could have expected, to the detriment of thousands of eligible student-athletes who have been waiting for their opportunity to compete," the NCAA said. "Those student-athletes just as much deserve a voice and protection through the judicial process."