Cal defensive lineman Aidan Keanaaina has sued the NCAA, seeking another year of eligibility. In the suit, the former Notre Dame transfer cites the Trinidad Chambliss ruling.

In 2022, Keanaaina suffered a torn ACL and appeared in one game against Boston College when Notre Dame had a 44-0 lead. He had three tackles on eight snaps during the final drive of that matchup, but he played enough to where the NCAA denied his medical redshirt waiver for that season. That’s why he’s arguing for another year and citing the Chambliss decision to back it up.

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In the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, Keanaaina drew parallels to Chambliss’ situation at Division II Ferris State. Chambliss had his medical waiver denied for the 2022 campaign as he dealt with health issues related to his tonsils. Although the NCAA denied his waiver, a Mississippi state judge granted a preliminary injunction to make Chambliss eligible for Ole Miss this season. The Mississippi State Supreme Court denied the NCAA’s appeal last week.

“The Chambliss Court reasoned that the NCAA ignored the player’s medical history in denying his medical waiver for the 2022 season, and this resulted in irreparable harm to Chambliss,” the filing states. “The Mississippi Court specifically stated that the medical waiver was denied on ‘pure semantics.’

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“The Chambliss situation is a clear illustration of this case; both players presented medical evidence showing they could not play and it was out of their control. Both players did not play at least four games, and the NCAA still unreasonably denied each players’ medical waiver request, creating irreparable harm.”

The setting is one of the differences in the cases. Chambliss’ lawsuit was filed in state court while Keanaaina’s is in Colorado federal court. The filing acknowledges that, but also said the two are similar because of the irreparable harm claims.

Lawsuit: Aidan Keanaaina offered $1 million in NIL

Aidan Keanaaina’s lawyers also argued he has a $1 million NIL offer from Cal if he was to play in 2026. His attorneys said “several schools” reached out to express interest, as well. Because of the uncertainty, those schools would have to move on without a waiver or intervention from the court.

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“Division I football programs have begun to fill their rosters and have begun spring practices for the 2026 football season,” the filing states. “These spring practices are critical to both the team and Aidan, as they would facilitate his integration into the team’s overall strategy and special teams game plan and enable Aidan to continue to develop a rapport with a Division I coaching staff and teammates.

“Several schools have contacted him with serious interest in using his services for the 2026 season. Aidan has been offered over $1,000,000.00 to play for the Cal football team in 2026. In addition, Aidan has several other prospective schools vying for his services for the 2026 football season. However, at this time, Cal and the other schools are in limbo waiting to see if the NCAA will grant Aidan a waiver or if he is not otherwise deemed eligible prior to the start of spring training.”

Keanaaina played four years at Notre Dame from 2020-23 before transferring to Cal. This past season, his second as a starter with the Golden Bears, he set career-highs with 56 tackles and 1.5 sacks while tying his career-best with 2.5 tackles for loss.