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October 16, 2026

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The NCAA sued Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday over his executive order allowing certain college athletes a fifth year of eligibility. The organization argues the order would give Ohio schools an “unfair” competitive advantage and could prompt other states to follow DeWine’s lead.

—Amanda Christovich

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NCAA Sues Ohio Governor Over Fifth-Year Eligibility Order

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The NCAA is suing Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

On Friday, the organization filed a 39-page federal complaint in the Southern District of Ohio challenging the legality of DeWine’s recent executive order over college athlete eligibility. The lawsuit asks a federal judge to declare the EO unconstitutional and against state law, and to prevent DeWine’s office from enforcing it.

DeWine’s order, signed Tuesday, came in response to the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility policy, which allows players five years to complete five seasons of competition starting on their 19th birthday or when they enter college, whichever comes first. But because the NCAA chose not to allow players who started college in 2022 and completed four years a fifth season, hundreds have begun suing.

DeWine’s EO said schools in Ohio could not prevent this class of players from having a fifth year, so long as they fell within the age requirements and did not have experience playing professional sports.

“If state courts—or governors—can unilaterally change the rules to give certain schools competitive advantages, it will become impossible for all schools to compete on a level playing field,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a statement Friday. He also noted he believed the EO violated state law. “I know something about this,” said Baker, himself the former governor of Massachusetts.

Representatives for DeWine’s office and the office of Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The NCAA’s lawsuit, which the governing body said was filed at the direction of its Board of Governors and Division I Board of Directors, calls the EO a “misguided attempt to give Ohio colleges and universities an unfair, unprecedented, and unwarranted competitive advantage in stadiums and arenas throughout the country.”

In its court filing, the NCAA argued the executive order “cuts at the heart of fair competition,” and said that if the order were allowed to stand, it would give schools in Ohio a “decided competitive advantage” over other schools across the country by allowing a group of athletes eligibility only for Ohio schools. The court filing also acknowledged a concern that other state governors could follow DeWine’s lead—something the NCAA is trying to prevent.

The case also acknowledges that DeWine’s executive order has already had a direct impact on Borovicanin v. NCAA, the first lawsuit filed by players from the freshman class of 2022 seeking a fifth year. Though they initially obtained an injunction to play, the NCAA was successful in getting the ruling overturned at the appeals court level. But on Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Ohio took notice of DeWine’s order, asking for an explanation of how it might influence the ultimate decision in the Borovicanin case.

Also on Friday, the NCAA used the Ohio legal battle to lobby for the Protect College Sports Act, sweeping bipartisan legislation that passed the Senate in September and will be taken up by the House in November. The PCSA wouldn’t moot litigation filed before it passes, but it would enshrine the NCAA’s age-based eligibility policy into federal law and give the NCAA antitrust protection to enforce it in the future.

“While we are confident our complaint will succeed in federal court, the answer to this state-by-state and court-by-court race to the bottom is the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act,” Baker said. “I encourage every NCAA member to contact their Representative in Congress to pass this bill now so college athletes can be sure they’re playing with the same rules as their opponent.”

AI in Sports: Everyone Is In

AI adoption is accelerating across the sports industry, but meaningful returns remain elusive. A new joint report from Front Office Sports and Teamworks, based on a survey from hundreds of sports organizations, examines how teams, leagues, and athletic departments are investing in and using AI.

While 90% of organizations expect their AI usage to grow, just 15% report a clear, measurable ROI. The report explores what separates organizations seeing returns, including dedicated AI budgets, centralized ownership, and organization-wide implementation. It also examines where sports organizations are using AI today, what they want from the technology, and how they plan to invest in the year ahead.

Read the full report to see where sports stands on AI and where it’s headed.

LOUD AND CLEAR

London Calling

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

“I enjoy being here personally.”

—Jaguars coach Liam Coen praised his team’s extended stay in London as Jacksonville prepares to face the Texans on Sunday after beating the Eagles last weekend. The Jaguars are looking for their first London sweep after giving up two home games in Jacksonville to play both matchups overseas.

But the franchise’s long-term future in London remains uncertain as it prepares to move into its renovated $1.4 billion stadium in Jacksonville in 2028. Jaguars owner Shad Khan recently said the team was “reflecting” on its international strategy, while his son, Tony, emphasized Jacksonville remains the franchise’s home.

STATUS REPORT

Two Up, One Down, One Push

USA TODAY Network

Savannah Bananas ⬆ Banana Ball is going international, the team announced with the launch of its 2027 schedule. The Bananas will play games in Mexico and Canada, and they will also visit some of baseball’s most iconic destinations: the Field of Dreams site in Iowa and Cooperstown, New York, home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Launched as a baseball equivalent to basketball’s Harlem Globetrotters, the exhibition team has experienced rapid growth in recent years and was valued at roughly $500 million as of last year, according to Forbes.

Javier Tebas ⬇ Real Madrid called on the LaLiga president to resign after he blasted the club and compared its leadership to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels in a diatribe on X/Twitter. Tebas accused the club of directing an “orchestra of mouthpieces” by using similar tactics to Goebbels: “systematic repetition, construction of an enemy, and subordination of facts to the narrative.” Real Madrid responded with its own lengthy statement, calling Tebas’s analogy “deeply offensive, morally repugnant, and institutionally undignified” and demanding his immediate resignation.

Aday Mara ⬆⬇ Basket Zaragoza, a pro basketball team that plays in Spain’s Liga ACB, says the Thunder’s No. 12 pick in this year’s NBA draft is still under contract with the team. Mara left the club in 2023 and played two years at UCLA before helping Michigan to a national championship last season. Zaragoza said Oklahoma City hasn’t formally requested a transfer—and that it would oppose it if it did. The Thunder maintain no formal request is needed.

AUSL Players Association ⬆ Players in the nascent women’s professional softball league have formed a union and asked the league to recognize it so they can negotiate a collective bargaining agreement before kicking off its third season in 2027. An AUSL spokesperson told Front Office Sports, “We are reviewing the players’ request carefully and are in touch with the AUSLPA contact directly.”

ONE FUN THING

Mamba Markup

Eileen Blass-USA TODAY

Kobe Bryant’s high school basketball jersey—worn during his junior season at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pennsylvania (a Philly suburb)—could soon be worth a small fortune.

The burgundy-and-white No. 33 away jersey is up for auction at Sotheby’s, which estimates it could fetch between $1 million and $2 million. In 2013, it sold for $51,400. The jersey (different from the white home jersey pictured above) dates back to the 1994–95 season, one year before Bryant led the Aces to a state title—their first in more than 50 years. Bidding runs Oct. 16–28.

Sotheby’s used photo-matching technology to authenticate the uniform. As of Friday afternoon, the current bid was $450,000. For comparison, a St. Vincent-St. Mary High School jersey worn by LeBron James on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 2002 sold for $1.3 million in September 2024.

—Matt Tabeek