A recent federal ruling in Colorado points to major change throughout collegiate athletics as a whole in the near future.
A preliminary junction was issued late in July giving athletes from the class of 2022-23 an additional year of eligibility. The decision as a whole received a handful of mixed opinions across all of college athletics, and the ruling was ultimately put on pause after the NCAA’s request for a stay was granted.
Things change fast, however, and the ruling will undoubtedly remain as a legitimate possibility despite being put on pause this week. Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer was recently asked for his thoughts on the ruling, while also revealing the Crimson Tide’s interest in a potential reunion with former players from the class of 2022.
“Just the overall with how that works, Greg Byrne has communicated with me about what we can and cannot do.” DeBoer said. “There is a possibility out there with someone who was on our roster in the past, but again right now he wouldn’t be able to come in and play. So I can’t control that, can’t worry about that. Just got to see how things move forward and progress. You just never know each day with the world we are in right now what tomorrow might look like. So we’ll kind of see as we go, I know there’s a lot of conferences and national figuring this out, and Greg Byrne continues to keep me updated on everything.”
Alabama has a handful of former players who could potentially return if ultimately deemed eligible. The ruling is expected to remain on pause for the time being, but DeBoer made it clear that the Tide would have interest in at least one former player from the class of 2022 should they become eligible in the future.
