The NCAA will appeal the temporary injunction granted by a U.S. District Court judge in the lawsuit case brought by Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia while granting a waiver for all Division I student-athletes with expiring eligibility who ‘attended and competed at a non-NCAA school’ for the 2025-26 school year.
That waiver will include all former junior college and NAIA athletes, including Vanderbilt’s Pavia, and will extend their eligibility by one season.
‘The NCAA Division I Board of Directors granted a waiver to permit student-athletes who attended and competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years to remain eligible and compete in 2025-26 if those student-athletes would have otherwise used their final season of competition during the 2024-25 academic year, and meet all other eligibility requirements (e.g. progress toward degree, five-year period of eligibility),’ the NCAA said in a statement to Yahoo Sports.
The temporary, preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge William Campbell ruled that the NCAA’s eligibility rules preventing Pavia from playing in 2025 because of his two years at a junior college violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. But the preliminary injunction only covered Pavia specifically, not any other junior college player. With the NCAA’s waiver in effect, the door is open for all former JUCO and NAIA seniors to return for another season of college sports.
The NCAA also noted in its statement that it continues to examine eligibility requirements after a ‘comprehensive eligibility review’ last summer.
‘The review includes all aspects of student-athlete eligibility, and Division I is committed to advancing the discussion during January governance meetings,’ the NCAA said.