When private equity gets involved directly with the university athletic programs, already involved indirectly via current NIL schemes and previously all the under-the-table recruiting money to lure top players, gee what more can go wrong also with more players and students now gambling than ever!?
It is long past the time for the NCAA to regulate such matters effectively, and I don’t see any way other than leaving such federal matters, which include fundamentally regulation of interstate commerce, in the hands of another troubled Congress and the relevant departments of the federal government.
So as covered in this post and in the following exhaustive post, the situation for young pro athletes now presents expanded options when enrolled at an FBS school for play, yet the situation after time in the NCAA is more muddled than ever for pro play after college, specifically for those not drafted into the NFL or not cracking a shot at an NFL training camp as a rookie free agent, who are generally training camp meat squad fodder.
As follows here is a summary of a new lawsuit from September for the right of five years of pro collegiate eligibility, which many athletes have had since 2017 if not more due in part due to the pandemic, on which the NCAA has decided to defer its decision through the 2026 to 2027 fiscal year ended 30 June 2027 so as to maintain the existing rule for four years of eligibility within a five year timeframe.
Wednesday’s [22 Oct 2025] memo, sent to Division I schools by Illinois athletic director and Division I cabinet chair Josh Whitman, made it clear that the current eligibility rules — five years to play four seasons — will remain in place for the rest of this academic year as well as the 2026-27 academic year.
The plaintiffs argue that these overlapping rules suppress athletes’ “institutional mobility and unlawfully constrict the market for college athletes’ services,” including potential NIL earnings.[8] They claim that the restrictions unfairly penalize academically eligible, high-performing athletes who choose to compete rather than redshirting, forcing them to forfeit a year of eligibility and potential market value without any legitimate justification.[9]
The complaint highlights recent NCAA actions, to show that these eligibility limits are unnecessary. During the COVID-19 pandemic, athletes who enrolled between 2017 and 2020 were given an “extra-year” waiver that allowed five seasons of competition in five, or even six, years.[10] Additionally, the complaint refers to the NCAA’s termination of the “one-year sit-out rule” in 2023, which now allows all athletes who enter the transfer portal to be immediately eligible to compete.[11]The plaintiffs contend that both the voluntary amendment and removal of eligibility restrictions is yet another instance that shows the illegitimacy of both the “five-year” and “redshirt” rules.
Every year, these are the worst two weeks of NCAA pro football, when teams go into those conference championship games and then the College Football Playoff is determined with all the damn arguments about who is included and who is not.
Then comes a weekend without football but for the Army-Navy game on that Saturday.
Then comes all the hype about all those Jackass Bowl games until the College Football Playoff starts. I’m glad they don’t waste regular TV time any more showing any of those Jackass Bowl and Bojack Bowl games either. WHO CARES!?
Note that it was not until after my time there that Notre Dame would elect to go to any lower bowl games like twice to that Weedwacker Bowl, which was always stupid but hey, “money-grab!”
And now rightfully so, here we are again because screw those non-playoff jackass bowl games!
