Kentucky appeals court denies NCAA stay, keeps 38 athletes eligible

Kentucky Court of Appeals Judge Sara Walter Combs denied the NCAA emergency relief on 30 October 2026, leaving 38 plaintiffs eligible to compete during the 2026–27 season, ESPN said.

The athletes are members of the graduating Class of 2022 who were denied an additional season under the NCAA’s new five-for-five eligibility rule. Jefferson Circuit Court granted them an October 16 temporary injunction—an order protecting their ability to compete while the NCAA, the college sports governing body, appeals.

Why Combs refused to suspend the injunction

Combs wrote that the NCAA had failed to prove it faced an “imminent, ruinous, and incalculable injury” without a stay, which would suspend the injunction. She also warned against repeatedly changing the athletes’ eligibility status while the courts consider the underlying issues.

In the NCAA’s argument, as Combs described it, even a few regular-season wins could significantly affect competing schools. The NCAA said allowing the plaintiffs to play would give their schools an unfair competitive advantage that could not effectively be undone if the injunction were dissolved and the athletes ruled ineligible.

Which athletes are protected

The protected plaintiffs include:

Earlier eligibility changes and the pending review

An earlier round of orders had already changed Trimble’s eligibility. In its 2 September 2026, account, On3 said the Tenth Circuit appeals court had granted an NCAA stay suspending a Colorado class-action ruling that made that graduating class eligible. Athletes needed another temporary court order to retain protection. Trimble regained temporary eligibility when Jefferson Circuit Court added him to an existing temporary restraining order in Wells v. NCAA, the Kentucky lawsuit challenging restrictions on fifth-year athletes.

The athletes’ lead attorney, J. Alexander Bish of Stoel Rives, described the new rule and its selective application as “patently unfair and arbitrary” in the lawsuit.

Combs’ emergency refusal is interim, not a final judgment on eligibility. A three-judge Kentucky Court of Appeals panel still must consider the NCAA’s request for relief. Leaving the injunction intact would preserve the plaintiffs’ temporary ability to compete; dissolving it and ruling them ineligible would end that protection.