Florida State men’s basketball coach Luke Loucks isn’t hiding how he feels about the NCAA’s eligibility mess, and his latest comments made clear the uncertainty is hitting coaches hard.
Loucks spent about five minutes with the media railing against the 5-for-5 rule, which has turned eligibility into a moving target while teams wait to learn which players will actually be cleared to compete. For programs on the wrong side of those rulings, the result is a built-in disadvantage.
The issue is personal for Florida State because of fifth-year player Alex Steen. Steen sued the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility after the association adopted the 5-for-5 rule - five years to play five seasons - replacing the old setup that allowed athletes five years to compete in four seasons.
But on September 11, Leon County Circuit Court Judge David M. Frank denied Steen’s request for a temporary and preliminary injunction that would have let him play a fifth season.
What frustrates Loucks even more is the inconsistency. He pointed to players in similar situations who have been allowed to suit up elsewhere while Steen remains sidelined.
“I'm watching Tommy Castellanos in his fifth year playing for Texas Tech. I'm watching Ole Miss's quarterback, I think in his sixth year. And his story is a lot like Steen's,” Loucks said.
The broader picture has grown even messier since the NCAA won its federal case, which paused a nationwide class-action lawsuit. Rather than push everything through that single case, attorneys have started filing on behalf of individual players or small groups in state and county courts - and that approach has been paying off.
That leaves coaches trying to build rosters without knowing which players will be available. Loucks said it creates a real imbalance when some teams get rulings in their favor and others do not.
“You're putting schools that you deny these certain cases, that get approved elsewhere, you're putting them at a complete competitive disadvantage,” Loucks said. “We're gonna go against teams that have multiple fifth-year guys that have been approved in court.”
Michigan is already one example. The reigning national champions added two fifth-year players on September 23 and 24, getting guard Roddy Gayle Jr. back after he won his case in the State of New York and transfer Kenny Noland after he won a lawsuit in the State of Indiana.
Kansas forward Tre White also picked up a preliminary injunction and is back with the Jayhawks. He joins a growing list of players who have landed additional eligibility, including Tamin Lipsey at Iowa State, Javon Bennett after transferring from Dayton to Gonzaga, and Miami Hurricanes leading scorer Malik Reneau, who was granted a temporary restraining order allowing him to play.
For Loucks and Florida State, Steen’s case is only part of the problem. With dozens of lawsuits still working their way through different states and jurisdictions, coaches across college basketball and football are left trying to manage rosters while they wait for decisions that could change everything. That means keeping spots open and building lineups around rulings that may or may not come, with no clear timeline in sight.
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