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College Sports

NCAA Sues Ohio Governor Over Athlete Eligibility Order

The NCAA is seeking to block an executive order allowing Ohio schools to disregard eligibility restrictions for affected athletes.

By TSP Staff
Charlie Baker in an archival portrait from 2010.
Charlie Baker at a gubernatorial speaker event on February 4, 2010. Archival photograph, cropped. Photo: John Gillooly / Rappaport Center, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). · Credit: John Gillooly / Rappaport Center

The NCAA sued Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in federal court Friday over his executive order concerning college athlete eligibility.

NCAA president Charlie Baker said the association was seeking an injunction and a declaration from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The complaint challenges an order allowing Ohio colleges to roster athletes the NCAA considers ineligible.

The dispute concerns athletes seeking an additional season after their eligibility expired in the 2025–26 academic year. The NCAA argues that allowing those athletes to return would disadvantage schools elsewhere that are following its rules.

Its complaint asserts constitutional claims involving interstate commerce and freedom of association, along with a claim under Ohio law. Those are the NCAA’s allegations, which the court has been asked to decide.

Baker also said the NCAA did not believe a recent Ohio Supreme Court order had immediately restored eligibility to athletes in the separate Borovicanin case.

DeWine’s order addresses athletes in the Class of 2022, including those who have completed four seasons of college competition. Its text is attached to the federal complaint.

Sources and notes

  1. https://www.ncaa.org/news/ncaa-president-charlie-baker-announces-legal-filing-in-ohio-federal-court/
  2. https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/ncaa/legal/NCAAvDeWineComplaint.pdf
  3. https://apnews.com/article/e7a9026e4f3a260ba8735de4afa65027
  4. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charlie_Baker_cropped.jpg
  5. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/