Judge's Ruling Reinstates Eligibility for Class of 2022 Athletes, Including at UConn

· Yahoo Sports

A U.S. District Court judge in Colorado granted a preliminary injunction on Friday that will give athletes from the high school Class of 2022 another season of college eligibility.

The ruling from judge Charlotte N. Sweeney is in response to a lawsuit filed in Colorado by a dozen plaintiffs who contended they should be allowed to play a fifth season.

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While some state courts have granted temporary injunctions, Sweeney’s ruling is different. As a federal judge, she can order the NCAA to create a blanket waiver to grant all impacted athletes another year of eligibility.

In the lawsuits, the athletes contended they should not have been excluded from the new NCAA age-based eligibility rule, which permits players five years in college and eliminates redshirts and waivers for injuries. An athlete could play all five seasons, too.

The new NCAA rule is set to take effect this summer with the 2023 high school class, and the athletes who have sued contend they should be grandfathered into the rule. Not allowing them to compete has infringed on their rights to earn NIL money without another year of eligibility, they claim.

Can athletes return to school right away?

Under Sweeney’s order, players are reinstated for the upcoming academic year. Knowing time is of great importance with some fall sports, such as soccer, beginning in mid-August, Sweeney set up a transfer portal to connect available players with coaches from Aug. 3 through 10.

But with a preliminary injunction, the NCAA has the right to challenge the ruling, which it undoubtedly will. Such an appeal would be filed with the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, which reviews rulings by lower courts in Colorado.

On Friday, the college basketball players to win their extra year of eligibility include Memphis’ Dug McDaniel, Jalen Washington of Vanderbilt and AJ Storr of Ole Miss, who began his college career in 2022 at St. John’s of the Big East.

This ruling applies to all sports, and chaos in the coming weeks can be expected. On one hand, this issue will land in court again. On the other hand, players might be reaching out to coaches who don't have roster spots -- or NIL cash -- to add anyone else at this time.

How does this decision impact UConn?

Some former UConn football players joined in a lawsuit with athletes from Syracuse, Sacramento State and Utah State to try to gain an extra year of eligibility, according to reporting from Syracuse.com.

It is unclear how many UConn players were attached to the lawsuit.

The basketball programs are unaffected,

Of the men’s basketball players who exhausted their eligibility last season, only Tarris Reed Jr. would be eligible to return. Now tied to the San Antonio Spurs as a first-round draft pick, he won’t be knocking on head coach Dan Hurley’s door.

The remaining seniors – Alex Karaban, Dwayne Koroma, Alec Millender and Malachi Smith – all entered college before 2022.

On the women’s side, head coach Geno Auriemma said goodbye to seniors Azzi Fudd, Caroline Ducharme and Serah Williams. Fudd and Williams are in the WNBA. Ducharme entered college prior to 2022. Williams, like Reed, is the only member of the 2022 class in that group.

Ice Brady and Ayanna Patterson both came to UConn in 2022 but already have extra eligibility due to injuries. Both have transferred.

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