Story perspectives

Colorado Lawsuit Challenges NCAA Five-Season Rule Over NIL Rights

7/15/2026

Summary

Athletes Sue NCAA

A Colorado lawsuit seeks to block the NCAA’s former four-year eligibility rule.
Eleven Division I athletes, including USF’s Isaiah Jones, claim the NCAA’s five-season rule, applied only to the new framework, denies them name-image-likeness opportunities.
Rob Shelquist of Cuneo Gilbert Flannery & LaDuca, LLP said the athletes want equal treatment, not special favors, citing the Ed O’Bannon case.

Summary

NCAA Pushes Legislation

The NCAA is urging Congress to pass the Protect College Sports Act for stability.
Gonzaga said point guard Mario Saint-Supery signed an overseas deal, leaving a roster gap.
LSU and St. John’s warned seniors could be ineligible under the five-year rule, sparking transfer-portal searches.
Sports attorneys Darren Heitner and Ryan Downton filed injunction suits in Georgia and Tennessee and plan filings in California and North Carolina.

History

Historical Context

The 2014 district-court decision in Ed O’Bannon v. NCAA found the association’s use of athletes’ likenesses violated antitrust law, prompting a $33 million settlement and scholarship reforms. Subsequent rulings, notably the 2021 Supreme Court’s Alston decision, further eroded compensation caps. Today, eleven Division I players—including USF’s Isaiah Jones—and schools such as Gonzaga and LSU are suing over the NCAA’s new five-season eligibility rule.

1 of 3

Athletes Sue NCAA

A Colorado lawsuit seeks to block the NCAA’s former four-year eligibility rule.
Eleven Division I athletes, including USF’s Isaiah Jones, claim the NCAA’s five-season rule, applied only to the new framework, denies them name-image-likeness opportunities.
Rob Shelquist of Cuneo Gilbert Flannery & LaDuca, LLP said the athletes want equal treatment, not special favors, citing the Ed O’Bannon case.

1 / 3