DENVER (AP) — A federal court dealt a perhaps chaos-inducing blow to the NCAA's new eligibility rule Friday when it ruled that all high school class of 2022 athletes who exhausted their fourth season of college eligibility this spring are eligible for a fifth season this school year.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney in Denver, expected to be appealed, undercuts the NCAA's plan to have the so-called “five for five” rule go into play starting with athletes who enroll in college in fall 2027.

It also has potential to wreak havoc on rosters across the country — for instance, opening the possibility that an undrafted player in an NFL training camp could decide to try to head back to college for a fifth year this upcoming season.

In granting the preliminary injunction, Sweeney said the players “will suffer irreparable harm without” it. She did not sign onto the governing body’s argument that applying the new rule retroactively would create “roster chaos.”

But NCAA President Charlie Baker said it would in responding to the rulings while referencing a bill in Congress designed to provide the NCAA antitrust protection on the eligibility issues.

“Today's rulings and the chaos they bring to college sports are exactly why it's time to pass this bill,” Baker said.

The Colorado ruling came hours after a Tennessee court granted Jalen Washington, who most recently played at Vanderbilt, and 18 other basketball players a fifth season of eligibility.

In June, the NCAA approved its new eligibility model for Division I athletes that will allow five seasons of competition over a five-year period that begins with their full-time enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first.

While the ruling in Tennessee applied to those 19 basketball players, the one in Colorado cast a wider net, granting the class certification the plaintiffs sought. It means the ruling applies to all Division I players who started their college careers in the 2022-23 season, not just a select list.

Saw today that from Vernon that 7' Serbian center Mihailo Musikic has committed to KU, but will only be announced if the NCAA clears him. He is 24 and has played professionally in Europe since 2022.

Yes that right

I don't know how much I even believe that number. We just landed another recruit today and it didn't seem like we still had NIL available if it was only $14 mil.

Sounds logical. But why is everyone throwing around this number of $14 mil NIL budget we have this year?

Private NIL (I’ve also seen it referred to as “pure NIL” since it’s ostensibly for actual NIL use) is unlimited but (allegedly) each deal has to be cleared with the NILGo clearinghouse run by Deloitte. Schools that are spending insane amounts are basically daring Deloitte and the NCAA to void these deals since they’re clearly far above fair market value as they define it.

For big money rosters, you’ll see the latter outnumber the former by 3:1 or even 4:1. We compete fine in terms of RevShare but we don’t have the donor base to compete with the biggest spenders, especially given all the other expenses in the AD and revenue disadvantage from being in a second tier league.

What are the real odds that this 'play 5 in 5 years' rule goes through and would it potentially affect this upcoming season?

Pretty good. Now it’s not clear whether the NCAA will open up another portal window for those guys or not. Then you’ll be limited to the guys like Council who entered just hoping they’d get another year and graduate students who the normal deadlines don’t apply to.

What are the real odds that this 'play 5 in 5 years' rule goes through and would it potentially affect this upcoming season?

Not sure but offers have been pulled and a lot of programs are going to wait it out. It's creating a big mess.

Ryan Prather #237

Tre Singleton #78

Jaquan Johnson #47

Taj Manning #607

Leon Bond #186

Monatana Wheeler #488

Timotej Malovec #381

JT Rock #193

Isaiah Abraham #500

Matt Gilhool #914

Jaden Schutt #374

Dezdrick Lindsay #145

Brandon Rechsteiner #447

Brock Vice #942

If we are a bit broke (we kind of are) there may not even be a word for what KSU is..

@rockchalkjayhawk pretty crazy! No car your first yr at KU?

totally crazy! back at that age you hardly sweat that kinda stuff, huh.

I had a few cars (clunkers) during my KU years. I guess living in the dorms you don't really need it much, but came in handy once i moved off campus. The tipsy walk to Naismith Drive back from The Hawk was always fun late at night ...