The NCAA Division I Board of Directors doubled down Thursday on the new age-based eligibility rule that has prompted some athletes to go to court in hopes of extending their college careers.
The Division I Cabinet, which approved the new rule last month, issued a similar statement last month after a group of basketball players filed a lawsuit in an Ohio state court contending the age-based model unfairly shuts them out of further competition. More lawsuits have been filed across the country since, some of them reportedly with their coaches’ encouragement.
The board statement indicates it won’t budge from its stance like it did when, in response to former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia’s 2024 court win, it granted an additional year to athletes who had competed at non-NCAA schools for at least one season and were set to complete their eligibility.
“We are encouraged by the Division I membership’s broad support of the age-based eligibility rules,” the board said Thursday. “The design of the new rules, including its implementation strategy, was thoughtful and well informed, and was unanimously supported by the Cabinet, including its student-athlete members.
“The Board has no plans to modify their application, notwithstanding a series of lawsuits recently filed on behalf of student-athletes with no remaining eligibility. We look forward to ensuring that the age-based eligibility rules are enforced consistently so that all institutions play by the same rules, like all participants in sports.”
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