Ohio governor issues executive order in an attempt to grant 5th-year players immediate eligibility in the state

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued an executive order on Tuesday aimed at preventing the NCAA from barring Class of 2022 athletes from playing a fifth season of college sports. The NCAA's recent decision only permitted players in the Class of 2023 and younger to have five years to play five seasons, leaving 2022 graduates ineligible for a fifth season.

The NCAA's rule has faced opposition from numerous college athletes in state courts nationwide. DeWine's order coincides with the oral arguments in Wisne v. NCAA, a federal antitrust case concerning the NCAA's new rule.

Under the executive order, no institution of higher learning in Ohio, private college, or university shall enforce any rule, requirement, or limitation that prevents a Class of 2022 student-athlete from fully participating in intercollegiate athletics during the 2026-27 academic year, irrespective of whether they completed four seasons of competition or exhausted eligibility under NCAA regulations.

The order also disregards any athletic authority's interpretation of eligibility bylaws, including a provision exempting players who have played in a professional sports league.

However, the enforceability of DeWine's executive order remains uncertain, even if the Wisne case results in a favorable decision for the NCAA. Executive orders are not legally binding, and state laws that allowed college athletes to receive compensation led the NCAA to overhaul its NIL rules in the early 2020s. As other state legislatures may soon pass similar bills, allowing athletes to play an extra season, governors could issue their own executive orders on the matter.

Nonetheless, the NCAA is expected to continue challenging its own interpretation of the fifth-year rule in federal court.