Federal appeals court halts ruling allowing thousands of college players extra year of eligibility

A federal appeals court in Denver temporarily halted a court order on Friday, which would have granted thousands of athletes extra eligibility to continue playing college sports. The lawsuit was filed by players who graduated high school in 2022, and their college eligibility ended last season. They were not included in the NCAA's new rule granting most players five years of eligibility, starting from the next season.

The ruling, made by a 2-1 panel of the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, puts the matter on hold until the appeal can be heard in total. This could potentially prevent chaos caused by similar rulings in courts across the country, which led to players attempting to return to their former schools for one more season before the college football season began.