Published
July 17, 2026
This lawsuit challenges the NCAA's new five-year eligibility model — a group of Division I athletes say the rule hands younger players a fifth season of play while shutting out athletes who just used four seasons in four years, costing them a final year to compete and earn NIL money.
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes a class action complaint. The statements below are unproven allegations. The NCAA has not been found liable, there is no certified class, and nothing to claim at this time. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
What Is This About?
The NCAA is facing a proposed class action lawsuit over its new "five-year eligibility model" — the framework that, starting in 2026-27, generally gives a Division I athlete a five-year window to compete. Eleven Division I athletes allege that the NCAA rolled the new five-year window out to incoming and continuing players but refused to extend it to athletes who had just used up four seasons of eligibility in four years, leaving that group with no path to a fifth season.The complaint was filed in July 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, with the case docketed as reported under Tyson v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, Case No. 1:26-cv-03063. The plaintiffs allege the exclusion is an arbitrary line that violates federal antitrust law, and they are seeking fast-tracked relief so affected athletes could potentially play in the 2026-27 season while the case moves forward. The NCAA has not been found liable, and the claims remain unproven.
Status
Complaint Filed
Proposed class action · Tyson v. National Collegiate Athletic Association · D. Colo. · filed July 2026
Allegation
New five-year rule excludes four-season athletes
Suit says the NCAA denied a fifth season to athletes who used four seasons in four years, costing them play and NIL earnings
Can I Claim?
No — nothing to claim yet
No settlement, no fund, no claim form at this stage
What the Lawsuit Alleges
For years, Division I eligibility ran on a "four seasons within five years" framework: an athlete had five calendar years to play four competitive seasons, with redshirt years and waivers used to preserve a season when an athlete sat out. According to reporting on the new rule, the NCAA moved to a five-year eligibility model for 2026-27 that generally gives athletes a five-season window — a change that largely eliminates the redshirt concept and most waivers, with narrow exceptions.The plaintiffs allege the NCAA drew an arbitrary cutoff when it adopted the new model. They say the extra season was made available to athletes still inside their eligibility window, but not to athletes who had already exhausted four seasons in four straight years by the end of 2025-26 — essentially athletes who started Division I competition in 2022-23 and never redshirted. The complaint alleges these athletes are denied a fifth season that similarly situated players will receive, which they say costs them a year of competition, a year to continue undergraduate or graduate study, and a year of name, image and likeness (NIL) earning potential.
The lead legal theory is antitrust. The complaint alleges that the eligibility limit is an agreement among the NCAA's member schools that unreasonably restrains competition for these athletes' services, in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The plaintiffs also plead contract-based theories tied to the relationship between the NCAA, its member institutions, and the athletes. As with any complaint, these are allegations only — no court has found that the NCAA violated the law or that the five-year rule is unlawful.
Who Are the Plaintiffs?
The case was brought by 11 Division I athletes from a mix of high-major and mid-major programs across several sports, including men's and women's basketball, baseball, and track and field. They are asking to represent a broader group of athletes in the same position nationwide.Consistent with our editorial policy, this page does not publish the individual athletes' names. What matters for readers is the group they seek to represent, not the identities of the named plaintiffs.
Who Could Be Affected?
The proposed class is described as Division I athletes who began competing in the 2022-23 season, completed four seasons of eligibility by the end of 2025-26, and are barred from a fifth season under the new five-year rule. Because the case is at the complaint stage, the class definition is not final and could be narrowed or changed as the litigation proceeds.If you are an athlete who fits that description, the lawsuit is essentially trying to open a fifth season for your group. There is nothing to file right now — the immediate question is whether a court will grant early relief before the 2026-27 season, not whether there is money to claim.
What Are the Athletes Asking For?
The plaintiffs are seeking court orders rather than a payout at this stage. Based on the complaint and reporting on the case, they are asking the court to:• Declare the exclusion from the five-year model unlawful and allow class members to compete in the 2026-27 season while the case proceeds.
• Bar the NCAA from enforcing transfer and roster-limit restrictions in a way that would keep these athletes off a team this late in the recruiting cycle.
• Award damages for the harm the athletes say they suffered.
• Certify the case as a class action so the ruling can apply to the whole group.
Because the athletes want to play this coming season, the case is being pushed on an expedited track, and a request for emergency or preliminary relief is the kind of early step to watch for.
Is There a Settlement Yet?
No. This is a lawsuit, not a settlement.That means:
• There is no settlement fund.
• There is no claim form.
• There is no payout, and no deadline to act.
• The core relief sought is the ability to play, not money to claim.
The filing of a complaint is the start of a case, not the end. The NCAA has not been found liable simply because this lawsuit was filed. If the case is later resolved through a settlement or a court ruling that creates a claims process, OpenClassActions.com would cover it separately.
How This Fits the Wider NCAA Fight
The eligibility case is one of several legal battles reshaping college sports at once. It follows the wave of antitrust litigation that produced the House NCAA athlete-compensation settlement over paying players for their name, image and likeness, the separate Power Four NIL antitrust lawsuit, and the NCAA tennis prize-money settlement. Many of these disputes turn on the same underlying question the eligibility case raises: how much control the NCAA can exert over athletes' careers and earning power before it runs into antitrust law.Separately, courts have already started weighing similar eligibility challenges. Athletes in other cases have argued that being locked out of an extra season on the four-in-four facts is unfair, and at least one has drawn early court intervention. Those cases are distinct from this Colorado federal lawsuit and rest on their own facts and rulings.
What Happens Next?
From here, the case moves through the early stages of litigation. The NCAA may respond to the complaint or move to dismiss, the plaintiffs are expected to press for expedited or emergency relief so athletes can play in 2026-27, and the court will eventually decide whether to certify the proposed class. Any of these steps can reshape or narrow the case.OpenClassActions.com will continue watching the docket for major updates, including any ruling on a preliminary injunction, the NCAA's response, class certification activity, and any future settlement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the NCAA five-year eligibility lawsuit allege?
The complaint alleges the NCAA's new five-year eligibility model gives incoming and continuing athletes a five-season window but arbitrarily denies that fifth season to athletes who already used four seasons in four years by the end of 2025-26. The plaintiffs say that exclusion is an anticompetitive restraint that costs them play, education, and NIL earnings. The allegations are unproven.What is the new five-year eligibility model?
Reporting on the rule describes a framework for 2026-27 that generally gives a Division I athlete a five-year window to compete, replacing the older four-seasons-within-five-years approach and largely doing away with redshirt years and most waivers. The plaintiffs allege it was not applied to athletes who just finished four seasons in four years.Is there anything to claim?
No. This is a newly filed lawsuit, not a settlement. There is no fund, no claim form, and no deadline. The athletes are asking the court for relief that would let them play in 2026-27, not for a payout you can file for.How is this different from the House athlete-pay settlement?
It is a separate case. The House-related settlement was about compensating athletes for the use of their name, image and likeness. This lawsuit is about eligibility — whether the NCAA can deny a fifth season to athletes who used four seasons in four years. Different claims, different relief, nothing to claim here.Sources
• U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado — docket for the reported case Tyson v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, Case No. 1:26-cv-03063, via CourtListener: CourtListener Docket Search• ESPN — "Group of 11 athletes challenge new NCAA eligibility rules in suit": ESPN
• SwimSwam — "Group Of 11 Division I Athletes File Class Action Lawsuit Against NCAA Over New Eligibility Model": SwimSwam
• Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca (plaintiffs' counsel) — "College Athletes File Class Action Against NCAA": Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca
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Status
Complaint Filed — Proposed Class Action
Case Title
Tyson v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (as reported)
Case Number
1:26-cv-03063
Court
U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
Date Filed
July 2026
Official Court Page
CourtListener Docket
