Legal Battle Over Eligibility
Fifteen men’s and women’s basketball players have filed a lawsuit in Hamilton County, Ohio, challenging the NCAA’s newly approved five‑year eligibility model that eliminates redshirts and waivers.
Under the new rule, athletes become eligible for five years of competition once they turn 19 or when they first enroll on campus, a shift that could dramatically alter scholarship strategies and roster planning across Division I programs.
The complaint names Xavier University’s Filip Borovicanin and the University of Cincinnati’s MJ Collins, both of whom exhausted their eligibility under the previous system after graduating high school in 2022, as representative plaintiffs seeking a preliminary injunction that would allow them to compete in the 2026‑27 season.
Attorneys Ryan Downton and Darren Heitner argue that the NCAA’s application of the rule unfairly restricts the number of games the athletes can play and hampers their ability to monetize name, image and likeness opportunities, claims that the organization has yet to address in its public statements.
The filing also notes that the new eligibility framework does not apply to athletes who used their fourth and final year of eligibility during the 2025‑26 academic season, a carve‑out that could affect a sizable portion of the current roster landscape.
Downton and Heitner anticipate a wave of similar actions, projecting that more than 50 basketball players from multiple states will file lawsuits this week as they seek to preserve their competitive windows and earning potential.