The Indiana Hoosiers are taking advantage of the legal uncertainty surrounding NCAA eligibility rules, bringing back defensive lineman Stephen Daley for one more season after a federal judge granted an additional year to athletes who began their college careers in 2022.
Daley had not been healthy enough to enter the 2026 NFL Draft after injuring his leg while celebrating Indiana's Big Ten championship victory over Ohio State. He led the conference and the team last season with 19 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. After playing four seasons without taking a redshirt, the former transfer received medical clearance from Indiana's medical staff and will use the court ruling to return.
The ruling came from Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado. She issued a class-wide preliminary injunction that ordered the NCAA to create a blanket waiver granting all athletes in the 2022 class an extra year of eligibility for the upcoming season. The case challenges the NCAA's new «Five and Five» rule, which gives athletes five years to play five seasons. Plaintiffs argued that players who used up their eligibility under the old rules should be grandfathered in when the new rule was introduced.
The NCAA is appealing the decision, and the appeal has thrown college athletics into a complicated stretch. Scott Bearby, the NCAA's chief legal officer, has been offering daily guidance to member schools about what is allowed now and what could happen if the organization wins a stay on appeal. Bearby said that if a stay is granted, the situation would return to the status quo before the injunction, meaning the age-based eligibility rules would be enforced as the membership intended.
Schools have been left to decide whether to bring back players during a window that could be closed by the appeals court. Multiple staffers have said compliance departments across college campuses are discussing the same question: whether it is worth the risk to add a player who could be ruled ineligible if the NCAA wins. Programs are also trying to work out roster spots and scholarship implications.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel acknowledged Tuesday that his school is still exploring the possibility. «Yeah, we're in exploration. Some of the details and what it's all going to look like still is being worked through, but looking at those things,» Heupel said.
The chaos has been particularly visible in college basketball, where more lawsuits have been filed at the state level and multiple players have been granted eligibility through court rulings. Conferences and the NCAA are hoping the «Protect College Sports Act» can pass through the Senate and reach the House floor, but there has been no immediate resolution.
For now, Indiana's roster move gives Daley another chance to play and sends a signal that at least one major program is willing to operate in the legal gray area while the appeal continues. The decision could put pressure on other schools to follow suit before the season begins, even though the final outcome of the eligibility fight remains unresolved.