Ohio's Governor Defies the NCAA, Opening a Fifth Year for the Class of 2022
By faNILy ·
Ohio just took the fight over the NCAA's new eligibility rule into its own hands. On Tuesday, Oct. 13, Gov. Mike DeWine signed Executive Order 2026-04D, which lets the state's public and private colleges choose to let athletes from the high school class of 2022 play a fifth year. The NCAA says he can't do that, and the court fight is far from over.
What the order does
The NCAA's new rule lets athletes play up to five seasons in five years. But it leaves out athletes who used up their eligibility under the old rules in 2026, so players who finished high school in 2022 and already played four seasons don't get a fifth.
DeWine's order gives Ohio schools the option to let all otherwise eligible class-of-2022 athletes compete anyway. According to a press release quoted by the Springfield News-Sun, schools can do that "despite the NCAA's current interpretation of its new eligibility rule." The AP noted that Ohio's eight Division I programs include Ohio State, Cincinnati and six Mid-American Conference schools, and none had responded right away.
"When the rules change, fairness has to remain part of the equation," DeWine said. He added that he wants Ohio's athletes to have the same opportunity as athletes in other states. Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel, who won national championships coaching at Ohio State and Youngstown State, made a similar point:
"It's important we do not deprive our current student-athletes of the same opportunities enjoyed by their peers."
The NCAA pushes back
NCAA President Charlie Baker responded the same day. "The Governor of Ohio cannot legislate NCAA eligibility rules," he said in a statement quoted by the Springfield News-Sun. He went further: "One elected official seeking to make their own rules for their own schools' advantage is a terrible way to run athletic competitions."
Baker noted that NCAA members voted unanimously to apply the age-based change this way, and that the Ohio Court of Appeals recently agreed with that decision. He also urged Congress to pass the Protect College Sports Act, which passed the Senate last month.
Why the timing matters
The order landed three weeks before the start of the 2026-27 college basketball season. The Springfield News-Sun pointed to Cincinnati's MJ Collins, a Utah State transfer who averaged 17.5 points per game last season, as a player who would be eligible if he qualifies under the order. Dayton, Miami and Wright State don't have players who'd benefit, but some of their opponents do.
Not everyone from the original fight gets help. Former Dayton guard Javon Bennett, one of 15 Ohio college basketball players who sued the NCAA in June, transferred to Gonzaga in the spring, so he isn't on an Ohio roster.
Meanwhile, in federal court
That same Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver heard Wisne v. NCAA. In that case, a lower-court judge had granted all 2022 high school graduates a fifth year before an appeals court blocked the ruling. The AP reported that all three judges pressed the players' attorney, Robert Shelquist, on how to define the market for the players, which is central to proving harm in an antitrust suit. The panel hasn't ruled.
The judges also asked whether they should wait to see if Congress acts. Both sides said no. Shelquist stressed how short the window is for these players, with football season halfway over and basketball about to start.
What fans should watch
The AP compared Ohio's move to California's NIL law, which other states copied until the NCAA was essentially forced to allow NIL payments. Whether eligibility follows the same path is an open question. The NCAA has recently won cases in Kentucky, Ohio and Arizona, and more litigation looks likely because of the order.
For fans, the practical question is who actually suits up this winter. Plaintiffs argue the rule also keeps class-of-2022 athletes from NIL deals and revenue sharing under the House settlement, so a fifth season can mean more than playing time. Watch whether Ohio schools use the option, and what the 10th Circuit decides.