COLUMBUS, Oct. 17 -- Ohio's colleges had three days of a governor's permission to field fifth-year athletes before the NCAA asked a federal court on Friday to declare that permission void.

Gov. Mike DeWine's Executive Order 2026-04D, signed Oct. 13, says no Ohio public or private college "shall uphold any rule" that keeps a Class of 2022 athlete from competing in 2026-27, even one who has played four seasons, according to the NCAA's complaint, which quotes it. That collides with the age-based model NCAA members adopted in June, which applies only going forward and gives nothing extra to athletes whose eligibility expired in 2025-26. That line is the heart of the fifth-year eligibility litigation now running through courts in at least a d...