NCAA has no plans to surrender, as eligibility lawsuits for 2022 class turn into an all-out legal war

During one of the most chaotic periods has seen when it comes to athlete eligibility, the NCAA made one thing clear Tuesday night: It has no plans to stop fighting the wave of lawsuits coming its way.

Right now, in courtrooms across the country, athletes who were part of the 2022 class are suing the NCAA over what they feel is a misguided and illegal decision that is preventing them from participating this academic year.

When the NCAA adopted its new age-based eligibility model, giving athletes five years to play five seasons, it made one critical decision that is currently being argued on a daily basis: it excluded the 2022 recruiting class from the new rule.

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Athletes who believe they are being denied an extra season of competition began filing civil lawsuits in courtrooms from Colorado to South Carolina, arguing they should receive the same benefits as those covered under the new eligibility structure.

Now, the NCAA might simply be too deep into this fight to let go of the rope.

Or, perhaps more importantly, the organization understands what could happen if it grants a blanket waiver to every member of the 2022 class who would otherwise have another season of eligibility remaining under the new guidelines if grandfathered in.

Outside courtrooms, some athletic administrators have hinted to Fox News Digital-OutKick that the NCAA's thinking on not granting a blanket waiver or including the 2022 class could center around the fact that there are too many players and not enough roster spots across the country for this to work.

Right now, thanks to an injunction granted by U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney of Colorado, athletes from the class of 2022 were granted the ability to join rosters, provided there was a spot available.

That ruling has already led numerous football and basketball programs to add players who had another year of eligibility under Sweeney's order.

But the NCAA quickly responded, filing an emergency motion for a stay with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, which it mentioned in their hard stance on Tuesday night.

"The Tenth Circuit has ordered an expedited briefing on our request for a stay pending appeal," the NCAA noted about the appeal. The deadline for the class members to file a response to the emergency motion is Friday, August 14.  The NCAA's reply brief must be filed no later than Monday, August 17.  In the meantime, the Wisne injunction remains in effect."

That still left one major question hanging over college athletics: Would the NCAA eventually give in to the pressure and grant a blanket waiver rather than continue fighting lawsuits that have already been filed — and the additional ones still to come?

On Tuesday night, the NCAA delivered its answer.

It's not tapping out.

"The Division I Cabinet, including its student-athlete members, carefully considered whether to make the age-based eligibility rule apply retroactively, and decided that doing so would not be in the best interest of all current and future college athletes," the NCAA announced. "We stand behind and will continue to fully defend the membership's decision.  The injunction should never have