​A Hamilton County judge has issued a ruling that, for the time being, allows dozens of Division I college athletes to gain an additional year of eligibility. In a July 9 decision, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Chris Wagner blocked the NCAA from enforcing its recently adopted rules that would grant a fifth year of eligibility to student-athletes who graduated high school in 2023 and later, while largely excluding those who graduated in 2022. The decision directly affects the men’s basketball programs at the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University, enabling key players to remain with their teams for an extra season and potentially reshaping rosters for both programs.
Earlier proceedings in the case centered on Shalonda Mixon, who appeared before Judge Wagner on April 23, 2024, in connection with a shooting incident at her brother’s residence in Anderson Township. Mixon was convicted in connection with that incident, receiving three years of probation and a $2,500 fine for tampering with evidence. The case context for the judge’s actions, however, is separate from the eligibility dispute involving student-athletes and the NCAA’s new rules.
In a written ruling, Judge Wagner issued a preliminary injunction that blocks the NCAA from enforcing its new eligibility framework, which had been designed to grant a fifth year of competition to athletes who graduated high school in 2023 and in later years, but which largely excludes players who graduated in 2022. The judge’s decision was grounded in concerns that the NCAA’s rules are not uniformly applied and may fail to promote genuine competition. Wagner explicitly questioned whether the rules, as enforced, serve the interests of fair competition when they exclude a substantial portion of potential fifth-year players.
The injunction was issued in the context of a lawsuit filed on June 24 by plaintiffs that include two dozen college basketball players seeking to extend their collegiate playing careers by a fifth year. With the injunction in place, players such as Filip Borovicanin, who played for Xavier last season, and MJ Collins Jr. and Kolby King, who played under new UC head coach Jerrod Calhoun at Utah State last season, are now in a position to participate in a fifth season of intercollegiate competition, provided other eligibility requirements are met. Both Collins and Borovicanin testified at a July 1 court hearing related to the preliminary injunction, underscoring the real-world impact of the court’s decision on players’ career timelines.
Judge Wagner also noted that the affected athletes would not be subject to any NCAA Transfer Portal requirements in connection with this ruling. At the July 1 hearing, an NCAA attorney questioned Calhoun about rules that impose sanctions on coaches or universities for adding a player who is not in the transfer portal, a scenario in which King would fall under different oversight. The judge highlighted the tension between the NCAA’s enforcement mechanisms and the judicial process, asserting that the NCAA’s attempt to exclude a class of athletes from a fifth season and then resist judicial scrutiny could be seen as an attempt to punish member institutions for pursuing legal remedies.
The ruling has immediate implications for the UC and Xavier basketball programs and potentially for other Division I teams weighing their rosters for the next season. It creates a temporary legal shield against the NCAA’s new eligibility framework for the affected players, allowing them to plan for another year of competition without the risk of automatic disqualification under the new rules. The case continues to unfold, and the parties may pursue further legal avenues as they contest the NCAA’s eligibility policy and its application to the plaintiffs.
As this developing story progresses, additional updates are anticipated as more details emerge from court proceedings and potential appeals. This article originated with Cincinnati Enquirer reporting and will be updated to reflect any new developments related to the injunction, the NCAA’s response, and the ongoing legal dispute over college basketball eligibility and competitive balance in Division I.