DeWine Order Allows Ohio Colleges to Grant Some Athletes a Fifth Year
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has issued an executive order allowing state colleges and universities to grant a fifth year of eligibility to athletes who graduated from high school in 2022, overriding NCAA eligibility rules.
Evansville, IN, October 13, 2026 —
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has issued an executive order allowing state colleges and universities to grant a fifth year of eligibility to athletes who graduated from high school in 2022. The order overrides NCAA eligibility rules, according to the information provided.
The measure gives Ohio’s public colleges and universities permission to award the additional year to athletes within that high school graduating class. The summary does not say that schools are required to grant the year, or explain how individual institutions will decide whether an athlete qualifies.
The order concerns eligibility, but details about its application were not provided. The available information does not specify which sports are covered, whether athletes must meet additional conditions, or how the order applies to athletes whose eligibility has already been determined under NCAA rules.
No date for the order’s issuance or effective date was provided. The information also does not include DeWine’s stated rationale, responses from the NCAA or colleges, or details about how any conflict with NCAA rules will be handled. Those points leave the practical effect of the order unclear beyond its stated permission for Ohio institutions to grant the fifth year to athletes who graduated from high school in 2022.
The order’s scope, implementation process and impact on affected athletes were not detailed in the summary. It states only that Ohio’s colleges and universities may grant the added year and that the order overrides NCAA eligibility rules.
Story summarized from the original created by EDDIE PELLS and ALANIS THAMES, Associated Press on www.tristatehomepage.com, see more information here.
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