beyond the back page NFL and NBA preseason players are going back to college — how NCAA could have avoided this mess By Zach Braziller Published Aug. 25, 2026, 7:40 a.m. ET Dae'Quan Wright, who appears headed to LSU, warms up before the NFL preseason game between the Browns and Bills on Aug. 24, 2026. Diamond Images/Getty Images The funny aspect to the current chaos that pervades major college sports is how easily it could have all been avoided.
A quick summary: In June, the NCAA passed a new eligibility model that allowed for five seasons of competition over a five-year period beginning with full-time enrollment or the academic year following an athlete’s 19th birthday.
It declined to grandfather in that extra year of eligibility to the high school class of 2022 (seniors last season) while for some reason giving an extra year to athletes who were juniors, sophomores and freshmen in 2025-26.
Predictably, those seniors have gone to court, and in several cases they have won. There was a federal ruling in Colorado that granted a full year to the entire class of 2022 by way of a temporary injunction, but the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals gave the NCAA a temporary stay, pausing the order.
