If Nebraska fans were expecting an influx of new players from the August Transfer Portal, they’re in for major disappointment. Just days after a Colorado Court threatened to send the NCAA into a chaotic late summer, the judge who ruled that class of 2022 players who hadn’t gotten a fifth year of eligibility could indeed get one made it clear that her ruling did not open the door for them to transfer. In other words, if a player like Jamarques Lawrence wanted to play elsewhere, he would have had to enter the portal during the regular window this spring, or go back to the Cornhuskers.
Judge Charlotte Sweeney issued an order clarifying the scope of the injunction, which some thought would lead to dozens of players in both football and basketball looking for new teams on Friday night. The NCAA had immediately said that there was simply no way her injunction could do things like override the roster limits or establish a new Transfer Portal window. It turns out, Sweeney agrees.
Sweeney clarified on Sunday that her injunction only grants athletes in the class a fifth year. It does not enjoin transfer rules, roster caps, revenue share caps, or anything of the like. Some Nebraska fans had immediately started talking about going out and getting another defensive tackle or running back from the group that was expected to enter the portal. That has now been clarified to the point where such a thing isn’t allowed.
Of course, not every big hope is dead for Nebraska. The aforementioned Lawrence did enter the Transfer Portal specifically because he wanted to see what happened with the 5-for-5 rule. Should he want to, he could go wherever has a spot for him. Or, if the Huskers believe they could make it work, he could come back to Lincoln for one more season.
Judge Sweeney has issued an order clarifying the scope of the injunction issued Friday night.
— Sam C. Ehrlich (@samcehrlich) August 2, 2026
In doing so, she clarified that her injunction ONLY grants athletes in the class a fifth year. It *does not* enjoin transfer rules, roster caps, rev share caps, etc. https://t.co/ohDiBAKrE5 pic.twitter.com/KZUL5KDCbQ
Colorado ruling clairification blocks a new Nebraska portal wave
Considering that basketball coach Fred Hoiberg recently talked about leadership needing to show up from his current team, adding the veteran guard back for one more run has to be appealing.
“I would say overall, it’s a little quieter group than it was a year ago,” Hoiberg said during his latest press conference last week. “Not to say that it’s a bad group of guys or anything, but it definitely has been a little bit quieter in our gym. So we’re constantly talking about that in our culture meetings, and hopefully we continue to make progress.”
Lawrence’s voice at Nebraska basketball practices would be a welcome sound, if the Huskers could find a way to make it work. It might be even more of a boon now that it’s clear other teams can’t go out and get whoever they want after the Colorado court ruling.
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