Some information on paper in the Diego Pavia x Joey Aguilar lawsuit to gain more eligibility for those who participated in JUCO football is in motion, and has released. There are many different things that were mentioned, with some of the following being just part of what was posted by Ross Dellenger on X.
What Was Said on Paper
Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar (6) looks around the stadium after losing a NCAA football game between Tennessee and Vanderbilt at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Nov. 29, 2025. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“…the hypocrisy of the NCAA granting four years of eligibility to a 21-year-old European professional basketball player with four years of professional experience who was drafted by an NBA team two years ago.’ He will be 25 before he runs out of eligibility. Meanwhile, the NCAA argues to this Court that high school seniors are harmed if a 22- or 23-year-old former junior college player plays one more year of college football.”
“Against that backdrop, Plaintiffs Diego Pavia, Christopher Bellamy, Demarcus Griffin, TJSmith, Trevonte “Tre” Richardson, Trent Hudson, Andrew Burnette, James Djonkam, Iman Oates, Jose “Joey” Aguilar, Azariah “Bear” Levells, Jacob De Jesus, David Murphy, Ja’ir Smith, Anthony Frias II, Amani Givens, Zelmar Vedder, Alexander Jones, Eddy Toussom, Kyri Shoels, Jamarien Wheeler, Emery Floyd, Jayden Dixon-Veal, Nadame Tucker, Quintrayvion Taylor, Josea Wheeler, and Jaden Mosley seek immediate injunctive relief to preclude the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) from enforcing its Intercollegiate Competition Rules (as defined below) to preclude Plaintiffs from playing NCAA Division I college football in 2026-27 and/or 2027-28 year on the grounds that such enforcement violates Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.”
“Plaintiffs in this case are all similarly situated to Pavia in that they started their collegiate football careers at junior colleges prior to transferring to NCAA Division I schools. They seek the same relief Pavia sought (which the NCAA has, to date, denied them). Unfortunately, rather than drafting its waiver to apply until the conclusion of this lawsuit, the NCAA drafted it to last only through the end of the 2025-26 season. Plaintiffs ask the Court to maintain the status quo created when the Court issued its injunction one year ago and the NCAA issued a blanket waiver extending that injunction to all similarly situated former junior college athletes. While the present college football season is coming to a close, this case is not yet over, and the present status quo allows former junior college players to compete in NCAA Division I football without regard to years of eligibility or seasons of competition at junior colleges. Plaintiffs asks the Court to judicially extend the waiver issued by the NCAA in response to this Court’s own prior ruling until the conclusion of this case.”
The hope of a certain timeline has been asked, as the hope from the players is that the hearing will be held before the transfer portal closes according to Dellenger. Here is what he had to say.
“In an extension of the Diego Pavia eligibility case, 26 former JUCO players are requesting an additional playing season, asking the court in a filing today to extend the injunction granted to Pavia last year. The players want a January hearing before the transfer portal closes.”
It is important to note that the NCAA Transfer Portal only has one window this off-season and will be open from January 2nd and through January 16th, which means they are hopeful that this will be held in the first half of the first month in 2026.
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