Former Dayton Flyers guard Javon Bennett and former Belmont High School center Shawn Phillips Jr. are among fifteen college athletes who have filed a lawsuit challenging the NCAA’s new age‑based eligibility model.
The NCAA’s eligibility overhaul
The lawsuit seeks a court injunction that would block the NCAA’s rule allowing student‑athletes to extend eligibility to a fifth year if they enroll no later than the academic year after turning nineteen.
The NCAA’s recent overhaul eliminates longstanding season‑of‑competition limits, sport‑specific eligibility thresholds and red‑shirt exceptions, aiming to simplify the Division I rule book and provide greater roster‑management clarity.
Among the athletes named in the complaint are Filip Borovicanin, Malik Messina‑Moore, MJ Collins, Kolby King, Chevalier Emery Jr., Jalen Quinn, Savannah White, Donovan Brown, Christian Henry, Ziare Wells, Cris Carroll, Caden Powell, Josh Reed and others who compete at institutions ranging from Xavier University to Baylor University.
University of Dayton athletics director Neil Sullivan praised the new rule for bringing consistency, while Illinois Athletics chair Josh Whitman highlighted its benefits for student‑athletes across the conference.
Attorneys Ryan Downton and Darren Heitner, who are leading the litigation on behalf of more than fifty players in five states, argue that the NCAA’s application of the bylaw unfairly restricts the number of games athletes can play and hampers their ability to monetize name, image and likeness opportunities.
The legal challenge also notes that the fifth‑year provision does not apply to Bennett and Phillips, who exhausted their eligibility during the 2025‑26 season, but it does extend the window for current Flyers such as Amaël L'Etang, who may now remain eligible through the 2028‑29 campaign.
The case, filed in multiple jurisdictions, could reshape how eligibility is interpreted nationwide and may affect the upcoming seasons of dozens of programs.