Court: United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Campbell et al. v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, Case No. 26-CV-07467
WBE and co-counsel filed this case challenging recent eligibility rule changes on behalf of collegiate athletes, alleging that the rule unlawfully limits the ability of many Division I student-athletes to compete and earn Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) compensation.
On June 24, 2026, the NCAA adopted a new eligibility model that gives Division I athletes up to five seasons of competition, but starts the student’s eligibility “clock” at the earlier of:
- The athlete’s first full-time college enrollment; or
- The academic year after the athlete turns 19 years old.
Under the new policy, only three limited categories are available to pause or extend that eligibility clock: pregnancy, official religious missions, and active military service. The rule eliminates many previously available eligibility waivers and extensions, including those based on season-ending injuries, extenuating hardships, transfers, and a multitude of other reasons that historically allowed athletes to maintain eligibility.
For students that have not already exhausted their eligibility under the former Four-in-Five Rule and athletes who enroll during the 2026-2027 academic year, Division I schools will apply either the former rules or the new age-based rules to their eligibility, whichever is more beneficial to the student athlete. However, the age-based rules are not applied retroactively to athletes who exhausted their fourth (and final) season of eligibility under the old rules during the 2025-2026 academic year are not eligible for a fifth year of competition. As a result of these arbitrary restrictions, college athletes are subjected to substantial financial losses due to the limited nature of their competitive windows. These financial losses include NIL endorsement opportunities and future earning potential.
Plaintiffs allege that the NCAA’s age-based rule is an unlawful restraint on competition in violation of federal antitrust laws and is presently affecting thousands of current and former Division I athletes nationwide. The lawsuit seeks to declare the current age-based rule unlawful under federal antitrust law, injunctive relief to prevent the NCAA from enforcing the rule, and award monetary damages.