NCAA plans to appeal federal judge's injunction granting fifth year of eligibility to Class of 2022 student-athletes

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The chief legal officer for the NCAA called Friday's decision by a Colorado federal judge to grant an injunction restoring a year of eligibility for student-athletes from the high school class of 2022 "egregiously wrong" in a letter sent to member schools.

Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado does not have the authority to overrule the House v. NCAA settlement that imposed roster limits on college sports programs, the NCAA's Scott Bearby argued in the letter issued on Saturday.

"The court's decision to certify a nationwide class and grant sweeping injunctive relief with virtually no evidence, and without witness testimony or even so much as a hearing, invites further chaos in college sports and irreparably harms thousands of student-athletes already on campus," Bearby wrote.

"We intend to appeal the Colorado order and will seek to restore the status quo as soon as possible to protect participation opportunities for the countless student-athletes who chose where to attend school based on the understanding that the rules adopted by the NCAA's member institutions would be applied as written," he added.

Bearby's letter follows a statement on Friday from NCAA president Charlie Baker that disagreed with the ruling out of Colorado and called for Congress to move forward with passing the Protect College Sports Act. He argued further that suddenly restoring eligibility to an entire class would cause "chaos."

Prior to the federal court injunction, the Big Ten and SEC approved a deal to support the Protect College Sports Act on Friday, Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger reported. However, that bill passing through Congress would not affect Friday's court ruling because it doesn't address pending lawsuits.

The ruling in Colorado was preceded by a Tennessee court granting a temporary injunction to Vanderbilt guard Jalen Washington and 18 other college basketball players to provide a fifth year of eligibility. The injunction also ruled that the NCAA cannot prevent any of the athletes from entering the transfer portal.

As a result of Friday's developments, reports of several athletes looking to return to college with renewed eligibility began to circulate.

Those exploring the possibility include former Ohio State kicker Jayden Fielding, Georgia safety JaCorey Thomas, Kentucky linebacker Alex Afari, former Pittsburgh running back Desmond Reid, Indiana receiver Jonathan Brady and linebacker Trent Hendrick, who last played for James Madison, On3's Pete Nakos reports.

Thomas, Afari, Reid, Brady and Hendrick are among several football players who participated in minicamps with NFL teams in the spring after their previous eligibility had expired. They were not invited to full training camp and now face an opportunity to renew their college football careers.

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