The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has filed a lawsuit against Ohio Governor Mike DeWine following his executive order permitting state universities to grant a fifth year of athletic eligibility to student-athletes who graduated high school in 2022. The legal action was initiated three days after DeWine issued the order, which contradicts a new NCAA eligibility rule enacted earlier this year.

The NCAA’s recent rule, adopted in June, excludes athletes who have already participated in four seasons of competition from receiving an additional year of eligibility. DeWine’s order, however, allows both public and private Ohio institutions to enable these athletes to compete for an extra year, a move the NCAA argues provides Ohio colleges with an unfair competitive advantage.

In its federal court filing in Ohio, the NCAA called the lawsuit an “extraordinary step” aimed at preserving a level playing field for all schools across the United States. The association contended that DeWine’s executive order amounts to a “hall pass” for Ohio athletes to bypass the established rules. NCAA President Charlie Baker emphasized that college sports rely on adherence to consistent regulations, warning that DeWine’s action jeopardizes competitive balance nationwide.

DeWine, a former state attorney general who is term-limited and will not seek re-election, chose not to comment on the litigation. Ohio’s Lieutenant Governor Jim Tressel, a former championship-winning coach, endorsed DeWine’s order, though none of the state’s eight Division I programs have publicly responded.

The executive order and the NCAA’s lawsuit reflect ongoing legal disputes over eligibility rules that are unfolding across various states. The Ohio Supreme Court has agreed to review the legality of DeWine’s order and has paused a lower appeals court ruling that had previously declared Class of 2022 athletes ineligible. The court has requested briefs from both parties to address the issue.

This dispute has immediate practical implications for athletes such as Filip Borovicanin, the lead plaintiff in one of the related cases, who was declared eligible to play following DeWine’s order and participated in an exhibition game for Xavier University. Other players affected include football and basketball athletes like Gonzaga transfer Javon Bennett and Cincinnati’s MJ Collins, all of whom face uncertainty about their status for the upcoming season.

Observers have described the accumulation of lawsuits challenging NCAA rules as disruptive to college sports. While the NCAA has won some legal battles, others have gone against it, resulting in a patchwork of rulings and ongoing instability within the system. The association’s lawsuit against a sitting governor is unusual but not unprecedented, harkening back to a 1990s case against a Nevada governor concerning NCAA enforcement procedures.

The situation continues to evolve as courts examine both the new NCAA guidelines and state-level attempts to alter eligibility standards, underscoring the complex and contentious landscape of college athletics governance in the current era.