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The Wisne July 31 Orders

On July 8, 2026, a group of Division I athletes led by Brock Wisne sued the NCAA, challenging the implementation of the new five-year eligibility model. The plaintiffs alleged that the NCAA unlawfully excluded athletes who enrolled in 2022, competed in four seasons, and were denied a fifth season solely because they had already exhausted four seasons under the prior framework. The preliminary-injunction motion proceeded primarily under Section 1 of the Sherman Act, although the complaint also pleaded contract and declaratory-judgment theories that were not central to the injunction ruling.

On June 23, 2026, the NCAA revised its Division I eligibility rules by adopting a new age-based model commonly referred to as “5-in-5.” We previously wrote about this new rule here. Under the new rule, student-athletes may compete in five seasons of their college sport, with eligibility beginning when they enroll in college and running no later than the academic year in which they turn 19. The change marks a significant departure from the NCAA’s prior framework, which generally allowed four seasons of competition within a five-year eligibility window. The NCAA, however, has not applied the new rule retroactively to all student-athletes, leaving one group in a difficult position: 2022 high school graduates who already exhausted, or are close to exhausting, their eligibility under the old system. Those athletes argue they were uniquely disadvantaged by the overlap of COVID-era eligibility waivers, evolving NIL opportunities, and the NCAA’s decision to extend benefits to other classes of student-athletes while excluding them.

On June 23, 2026, the NCAA Division I Cabinet unanimously approved a historic overhaul of student-athlete eligibility rules, adopting an age-based model that grants student-athletes five full seasons of competition after entering college. The vote marks the most significant structural change to NCAA eligibility rules in decades and resolves — at least formally — a system that had become both legally vulnerable and administratively unworkable.

Editor’s Note: This post was updated on June 9, 2026, to reflect the NCAA’s updated guidance issued on June 5, 2026, in response to recommendations from stakeholders in men’s ice hockey, men’s basketball, and the U.S. national service academies.

During its May meeting, the Division I Cabinet proposed and discussed an age-based eligibility model (i.e., the 5-in-5 proposal) that would give student-athletes five years of eligibility, beginning either the academic year after turning 19 or upon graduation from high school, whichever happens first.

As we reported last week, the College Sports Commission (CSC) issued initial guidance on how it would evaluate student-athlete NIL deals. As part of that guidance, the CSC promised to make available additional information “pending discussions with House class counsel.”

A three-page memo distributed to schools provides further clarity regarding Deloitte’s role as the approved clearinghouse for name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals, as outlined in the House settlement and guidance documents. Deloitte’s NIL clearinghouse and review platform will be known as “NIL Go.” We briefly addressed the role of the NIL clearinghouse in a previous blog post.

On April 21, the Division I Board of Directors (Board) greenlit major National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rule changes that are contingent on court approval of the $2.8 billion House v. NCAA settlement. If the settlement is approved, these changes would eliminate more than 150 rules, many of which conflict with the settlement’s terms, and create new rules related to enforcement and oversight of the school distributions and student-athletes’ name, image, and likeness (NIL) payments.