NCAA Sues Ohio Governor DeWine in Federal Court Over Eligibility Executive Order
Columbus — The NCAA filed a federal lawsuit in Ohio on October 16 against Governor Mike DeWine, saying his executive order on athlete eligibility is unlawful, according to the Associated Press. NCAA President Charlie Baker called the suit an extraordinary step intended to stop the order from making it impossible for schools to compete on a level playing field.
DeWine signed the executive order on October 13, giving Ohio public and private universities the option of letting athletes who graduated from high school in 2022 play a fifth season in 2026-27. The NCAA's new model, adopted in June, lets athletes play five seasons in five years without redshirting, but it covers the class of 2023 onward and excludes 2022 graduates who have already played four seasons. GSM reported DeWine's signing of the order on October 14.
The 41-page complaint seeks injunctive and declaratory relief on three grounds: that the order unlawfully burdens interstate commerce under the Commerce Clause; that it violates the First Amendment by purporting to let Ohio schools keep their NCAA membership while flouting NCAA rules; and that it violates state law because the governor lacks authority to permit schools to disregard rules they agreed to follow. The complaint says the order amounts to a pass for Ohio schools to break the rules and would give them an unfair competitive advantage. Programs affected include those at Ohio State, Xavier and Cincinnati.
Separately, the Ohio Supreme Court has said it will decide the legality of the executive order and has paused an appeals court ruling that had declared class-of-2022 athletes ineligible, asking both sides to file briefs by next Monday in a case whose lead plaintiff is Xavier basketball player Filip Borovicanin. Baker said the NCAA will also submit arguments in that state case by Monday. DeWine's office has not yet publicly responded to the federal lawsuit.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: GSM 行政令统一模板（俄亥俄州州长行政令）
- 2026-10-16NCAA Sues Ohio Governor DeWine in Federal Court Over Eligibility Executive OrderThis story
- 2026-10-17NCAA Sues Ohio Governor DeWine Over Executive Order on Player Eligibility
- 2026-10-22Ohio: Governor's Order Opens Fifth Year for Class-of-2022 Athletes
