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A divided three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit on Friday granted the NCAA a stay of a nationwide injunction that had permitted thousands of formerly ineligible athletes to return to college sports at the start of the 2026–27 campaign. The ruling doesn’t mean the NCAA has won its appeal of last month’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney, which had granted the injunction in Wisne v. NCAA and certified a nationwide class of former Division I athletes who began college play in 2022–23, completed four years of eligibility and now seek to play an additional season. Although the granting of the stay signals the 10th Circuit panel is likely to rule for the NCAA, it’s possible the player plaintiffs can better convince the panel as the appellate process plays out. Yet the stay has enormous practical importance for athletes and their families, especially with the fall 2026 semester about to start at universities across the country. Athletes who completed college in May but who were intending to return to campus can no longer use the Wisne injunction. Those athletes can still seek injunctions in other forums, including state courts, but relying on a nationwide one granted by a federal judge is off the table. For now, at least. Judges Timothy M. Tymkovich, Paul J. Kelly, Jr., and Veronica S. Rossman issued a brief order saying that Tymkovich and Kelly concluded the NCAA met the traditional factors for a stay. Those factors include whether the NCAA made a strong showing that it will likely succeed on the merits of its appeal, whether the NCAA would be irreparably harmed without a stay and whether a stay would substantially harm the players who were planning to come back. The court declined to explain its reasoning, though it noted that Rossman wanted to deny the stay, meaning the vote to grant the stay was 2 to 1. The case centers on former players seeking another season of play, during which they can potentially earn NIL and revenue-sharing money as well as further develop their skills and increase their odds of turning pro in 2027. These players argue it’s unfair the NCAA changed its eligibility rules in June to allow up to five years of eligibility but didn’t retroactively extend the five-season benefit to athletes who graduated high school in 2022 and have already completed their college careers. The legal arguments concern antitrust law, namely that the NCAA has control over the highest levels of college sports and that NCAA member schools and conferences, all of which are competing businesses, agree to limit how they compete to pay members of a labor market (i.e., college athletes). The players in the case include those who have already graduated from college and signed professional sports contracts. Brock Wisne, for example, graduated with his classmates from the University of Northern Colorado in May and signed with a Spanish professional basketball team over the summer. Had these players returned to campus, some, the NCAA noted, might have taken roster spots or at least playing time from freshmen and incoming transfers who are younger, less experienced and, in some cases, not as physically developed. To that point, the beneficiaries of the Wisne injunction were largely athletes who already played four college seasons and are 22 or 23 years old, the kind of player profile that coaches would generally prefer over an 18-year-old freshman who has never played in college. Roster spots are also limited and can’t be instantly expanded. Indeed, one condition of the House settlement is roster limits, which are paired with unlimited athletic scholarships and other athlete-friendly features of the deal. Roster limits are also a well-established and legally approved practice in competitive sports. As Sportico detailed, the prospect of freshmen and others losing roster spots to former athletes returning to campus could have led those freshmen to file their own lawsuits. The stay of the Wisne injunction removes that possibility. Those issues go to irreparable harm, meaning a harm that can’t be remedied by money, which plays an important role in the litigation. The Wisne players argued they would lose a chance at a fifth season that they’ll never get again, while the NCAA argued that the Wisne players returning to school would mean taking away spots from freshmen who, in choosing a college, relied on assurances they would be on a roster and possibly have opportunities to play. In a statement on Friday to NCAA member schools, NCAA chief legal officer Scott Bearby said athletes who were “allowed to compete because of the Wisne injunction are no longer eligible to compete.” He also referenced the NCAA recently winning a stay of a trial judge’s injunction allowing Xavier basketball player Filip Borovicanin and other college basketball players from the high school class of 2022 to play college hoops this fall. To be sure, the legal battle over eligibility isn’t over. Earlier this week, a judge in Louisiana granted a 10-day temporary restraining order allowing a group of athletes, including those who signed with NFL teams, to return. There could be similar rulings in other courts. As noted above, the challenge for the NCAA is that even as it scores important legal wins, it’s unlikely to prevail in every forum. That means some schools are likely to benefit from being able to field seasoned, NFL-level players and other athletes of that caliber, while competing schools won’t have that opportunity. It’s one reason why the NCAA has urged Congress to pass legislation that would grant an antitrust exemption, at least for eligibility and transfer matters. The underlying logic of NCAA eligibility rules is to promote fair play and competition, with colleges, coaches and athletes treated similarly in similar situations. Another important element to consider: College sports is predicated on athletes being full-time students. That becomes a more significant issue as September rolls in. Colleges have add/drop periods and deadlines for students to enroll in courses for the semester. Students’ ability to play sports hinges on being enrolled, which might not be possible for the fall semester as the calendar turns to the second half of September and beyond. One thing is for sure: The chaos of modern-day college sports will continue.