A ruling by a Tennessee judge on Wednesday could have significant ramifications on college eligibility moving forward, as the NCAA was dealt another blow in the courtroom.
The judge granted college football quarterback Diego Pavia‘s request for a temporary injunction against the NCAA and its eligibility rules, allowing Pavia to compete in the 2025 season.
This despite Pavia having exhausted his college eligibility under the current rules. The 23-year-old has played two years of junior college and three years of Division I football, but he’s challenging the NCAA’s policy that counts a junior college stint on a player’s eligibility clock.
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia’s motion for a preliminary injunction that would allow him to play in 2025 has been GRANTED. pic.twitter.com/4zjIjBMWhs
— Sam C. Ehrlich (@samcehrlich) December 18, 2024
Student-athletes currently get five calendar years to play four seasons, with a stint at a junior college counting as one season of play.
The court has at least temporarily agreed with Pavia’s claim that junior college, which is not an NCAA institution, should not count against NCAA eligibility. Therefore, the NCAA cannot enforce its eligibility rules that would prohibit Pavia from playing next season.
The NCAA still has the option of appealing the decision, but reports indicate that its chances of being granted one are slim at best.
Even if the court ultimately rules in favor of the NCAA at the end of the trial, Pavia will have already completed his season in question.
Wednesday’s ruling figures to be a landmark moment as not only could it result in junior college athletes gaining an extra year of NCAA eligibility, but it could also lead to more legal challenges relating to the NCAA’s traditional eligibility rules.
It is at least the third ruling in the past year that denies the NCAA the ability to enforce one of its own rules—the others being the ruling allowing multi-time transfers to compete immediately, and the ruling that meant the NCAA couldn’t enforce its NIL policies.
My Lawyers are legit‼️
Ryan and Sal I appreciate yall!
God is good, All the time❤️— Diego Pavia (@diegopavia02) December 18, 2024
As of now, the ruling doesn’t relate to other student-athletes, just Pavia, meaning others who have competed in junior college in the past still have it counted towards their NCAA eligibility.
“Can all of our junior college guys come back?” one athletic administrator asked, according to Yahoo Sports. “Well, they’ve got a pretty good argument.”
In the previous transfer and NIL cases, the NCAA ultimately provided clarity on what the ruling meant for others.
Ryan Downton, Pavia’s lawyer, said the hope is that the ruling “may open the door for other former junior college players to obtain an additional year of eligibility without filing a lawsuit,” according to Yahoo Sports.
The NCAA issued the following statement, expressing disappointment with the decision.
“The NCAA is making changes to deliver more benefits to student-athletes, but a patchwork of state laws and court opinions make clear that partnering with Congress is essential to provide stability for the future of all college athletes,” the statement said.
This is so stupid. These guys that need to play 6 years are just taking opportunities from other student athletes.
What we’re heading toward, essentially, is completely unregulated, free-market college sports. This is where every pro sport in the U.S. was headed at some point until there was congressional intervention.
What I can’t tell is if everyone involved is consciously daring congress to act, just trying to make their buck before it all falls apart, or is of the belief that congress has become to muddy to actually accomplish something like this.
you hit the nail on the head Braden. It is a free-for-all right now.
“[B]ut a patchwork of state laws and court opinions make clear that partnering with Congress is essential to provide stability for the future of all college athletes.”
Ya think? If the NCAA acknowledged this 20 years ago when they started their incredible string of court losses, we would not be in this situation. This is why I keep saying the anger toward Grant House is misplaced. The NCAA ignored its chance to right the ship, and now the mutineers have taken over, and the NCAA is stuck praying to one of the most divided Congresses in living memory for a lifeline.
This is a cautionary tale to all procrastinators—ignoring a problem won’t make it go away.