Why Indiana basketball is losing a player's eligibility, for now, and what's next

BLOOMINGTON —  Sam Alexis ' eligibility for the forthcoming college basketball season was thrown in doubt Wednesday, when the Tennessee Court of Appeals issued a stay on a lower-court ruling granting several athletes an injunction against the NCAA's application of its new age-based eligibility model.

Alexis is one of a number of players who graduated high school in 2022 and played four years of college sports in that same space of time seeking relief against the NCAA's decision to apply its new five-years-to-play-five rule only to athletes beginning with the ongoing academic year. Athletes across several sports and in several states have won relief against the association's decision, granting those athletes an additional year of eligibility as well.

One of several athletes party to that filing, Alexis gained his fifth year when the Chancery Court of Davidson County, Tennessee, granted its injunction earlier this summer. Alexis played his first two years of college basketball at Chattanooga.

Indiana welcomed Alexis back into an open 13th scholarship , after coach Darian DeVries elected to leave one spot unfilled following his roster rebuild last spring. Now, Alexis' eligibility for 2026-27 is in limbo once more.

The appellate-court stay does not overrule the lower court's injunction. It simply stayed the injunction, and therefore the relief it provided plaintiffs in Alexis' case, while the higher court considers the NCAA's appeal.

Wednesday's news comes as the NCAA is facing challenges to its application of the new five-in-five rule across the country. At both the state and federal levels, the association is fighting a legal battle over its right to assert the rule as it chose to, with Power Four conferences recently moved by the tumult to pass rules barring players from entering professional leagues such as the NFL and then attempting to return to college.

Most notably, a federal-level case in Colorado this year granted relief against the NCAA's rules application, in theory granting every class-of-2022 athlete a fifth year if they wanted it. As with the Tennessee case, the NCAA appealed that ruling to a higher court, with a similar outcome. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay on that decision while it considers the association's appeal.

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Unlike IU football players Kellan Wyatt and Stephen Daley , as well as All-American IU volleyball player Avry Tatum, Alexis could win his eligibility back with further success at either the state or federal level. A successful upholding of the lower-court decision in either Tennessee or Colorado would render Alexis eligible once more, whereas Daley, Tatum and Wyatt could only win their fifth year via the federal case, at least as of now.

And if you're confused about this, no one blames you.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why Indiana basketball is losing a player's eligibility, for now, and what's next

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