​Last month, the NCAA Division I Cabinet unanimously approved an age-based, five-year eligibility model that’s set to replace an existing model that allowed four seasons of competition over five years with no age restrictions.The rule change is slated to go into effect for all prospects initially enrolling full-time in college in fall 2027 or later. For incoming 2026 class members and current student-athletes with eligibility remaining, Division I schools will apply whichever eligibility model is most beneficial for each individual.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut student-athletes who exhausted their eligibility during the 2025-26 academic year will have no additional eligibility, an exclusion that’s unsurprisingly resulted in legal action. A group of 11 D-I athletes — headlined by standout men’s college basketball players Minnesota guard Cade Tyson and Northern Colorado forward Brock Wisne — is challenging the new eligibility model in federal court. More specifically, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, they’ve filed a class action lawsuit against the NCAA in hopes of securing a fifth season of eligibility.”These athletes aren’t asking for special treatment,” said Rob Shelquist, a partner at Cuneo Gilbert Flannery & LaDuca, LLP, in a statement. “They’re asking to not be singled out and excluded from the NCAA’s eligibility framework. The NCAA updated the rules but refused to apply them only to the very group that was most immediately affected.“If the NCAA has determined that five years of eligibility is the fair rule for college athletes, then athletes who would still be eligible but for completing four years of eligibility should not be deprived of the same educational, athletic and NIL opportunities.”If the NCAA, most recently beleaguered because of a cascade of court proceedings over eligibility disputes in recent years, loses this suit, the ripple effect on the world of college athletics could be seismic. Not only would the 11 plaintiffs benefit but so would thousands of others in their same situation.The college football landscape, especially, could be put in a blender. With the 2026 season right around the corner, programs could benefit from a flurry of last-second additions with veteran players suddenly eligible and transferring in for one last hurrah.Again, that is if those players receive a ruling in their favor. The complaint seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, damages and class-wide remedies.The plaintiffs are Tyson, Wisne, Anthony Johnson (Arizona State men’s basketball), Louie Jordan (Radford men’s basketball), Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro (Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball), Isaiah Jones (South Florida men’s basketball), Aidan Shaw (Boston College men’s basketball), Dimond Loosli (Penn State baseball), Jake Morell (Seattle University baseball), Aislin Malcolm (Robert Morris women’s basketball) and Abigail Jefferies (Long Island University women’s track and field)