Ohio Governor Mike DeWine addresses the legislature and guests during his 2023 State of the State address in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. David Petkiewicz | cleveland.com via TNS.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order Tuesday that lets Ohio colleges and universities give student-athletes from the high school class of 2022 another season of competition, challenging the NCAA’s current rules.?
Executive Order 2026-04D lets Ohio institutions allow athletes who have exhausted their eligibility to compete during the 2026-27 season. In June, the NCAA adopted a five-year eligibility model for student-athletes, but restricts the class of 2022 from receiving an additional year of eligibility.?
DeWine is seeking to change that for Ohio colleges and universities through the order.?
“When the rules change, fairness has to remain part of the equation,” DeWine said in a press release. “We want Ohio’s student-athletes to have the same opportunity as student-athletes in other states.”
NCAA President Charlie Baker criticized the order in a statement, arguing that individual states should not establish different eligibility rules for their respective schools.?
“The Governor of Ohio cannot legislate NCAA eligibility rules,” Baker said. “One elected official seeking to make their own rules for their own schools’ advantage is a terrible way to run athletic competitions and precisely why Congress must pass the [Protect College Sports Act] PCSA as soon as possible.”
While the PCSA, which would establish national rules in governing areas such as athlete compensation, eligibility and transfer restrictions, has been passed in the U.S. Senate by a 77-22 vote on Sept. 28, it must still pass in the House of Representatives before it can be enacted as a law, per prior Lantern reporting.?
The NCAA’s current eligibility model sets a five-year eligibility period that begins when a student-athlete first enrolls full-time in college or turns 19, whichever comes first. The PCSA would also adopt this model.
Under current rules, student-athletes who graduated from high school in 2022 have already competed four seasons and are denied a fifth.?
DeWine argued that since the PCSA has not passed in the House of Representatives, it is unfair to the Class of 2022 to be exempt from a potential season.?
“Principles of fairness require that Class of 2022 student-athletes be given a fifth year to compete, just like the classes that came before and after them, and against whom they competed throughout their collegiate careers,” DeWine said.?
Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel, former Ohio State head football coach, said in the release that he supports DeWine’s stance on the order because of this lack of “fairness.”?
“It’s important we do not deprive our current student-athletes of the same opportunities enjoyed by their peers,” Tressel said.
Baker’s statement added that NCAA members voted unanimously for the age-based eligibility change, and the Ohio Court of Appeals recently agreed with the decision.
“The NCAA will protect the interests of all member institutions and student-athletes,” Baker said in the release. “Eligibility rules established through the Association’s governance process have been and will continue to be applied consistently across the membership by the NCAA, including in the state of Ohio.”
