The latest wrinkle in the NCAA eligibility fight over high school Class of 2022 just hit the desk.
The Ohio Governor signed an executive order this evening, stating that “No State institution should enforce any … limitation that prevents a student athlete of that institution from the Class of 2022 from fully participating in athletics in the 2026-27 academic year.”
Athletes from the Class of 2022 have been fighting for eligibility since July after the NCAA announced its new 5-in-5 framework, with moderate success in the federal and state court system. Injunctions and Temporary Restraining Orders have been used to grant athletes eligibility, but there has been no nationwide standard established.
This development could change that as it forces the NCAA to fight on another front — with State gubernatorial power. College sports legal expert Sam C. Ehrlich suggests that this may be outside of Governor Mike DeWine’s power, but the order will temporarily throw a curve ball at programs already caught in a flurry of chaos.
A few caveats are set in place by the executive order:
-Athletes must be academically eligible
-Athletes must have not participated in a professional sports league
It doesn’t seem like this would have much impact on the juggernaut Ohio State women’s tennis team who didn’t have any graduating seniors last season.
But it could certainly impact the Ohio State men who saw ITA No. 27 Jack Anthrop and Alexander Bernard graduate and turn pro. Since ATP and WTA events are not technically a part of a professional league and are rather a ‘tour’, it seems reasonable that those two would be able to return and bolster an already stacked Ohio State men’s roster. Technically, Anthrop joined Ohio State in January of 2022 and redshirted that spring, but the lines seem fuzzy on reclassification eligibility.
The Cincinnati Bearcats women’s tennis squad also lost three seniors to graduation, and could see a potential return from a few of those players.
But with rosters already filled out and scholarship/roster spots already called for, coaches will have a difficult time making any adjustments to their team, especially when this is likely just a temporary action in a single state.
Will this executive order seem to provide Ohio schools an edge and be a domino that causes other Governors to give similar orders? Time will tell. In any case, the NCAA has a new battle to fight in a war that has forced numerous retreats.
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