{"id":766180,"date":"2026-02-21T05:57:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T05:57:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/766180\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T05:57:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T05:57:24","slug":"ncaa-releases-statement-after-joey-aguilar-denied-preliminary-injunction-by-knoxville-judge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/766180\/","title":{"rendered":"NCAA releases statement after Joey Aguilar denied preliminary injunction by Knoxville judge"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NCAA praised a Knoxville judge\u2019s decision Friday to deny<\/a> Tennessee<\/a> quarterback Joey Aguilar<\/a> a preliminary injunction in his eligibility case against the organization. Aguilar is seeking an eighth collegiate season \u2014 but just fourth at the NCAA level \u2014 after the NCAA denied him last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NCAA is thankful for the judge\u2019s decision today which demonstrates the court\u2019s consideration of eligibility standards and protecting access to the collegiate experience for current and future student-athletes,\u201d the NCAA statement read, per On3\u2018s Pete Nakos<\/a>. \u201cWe will continue to defend the NCAA\u2019s eligibility rules against attempts to circumvent foundational policies and hinder fair competition to all student-athletes. The NCAA is making changes to deliver more benefits to student-athletes and will continue to work with Congress to provide stability for all college athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friday afternoon\u2019s ruling by Knox County Chancery Court Judge Chris Heagerty upholds the NCAA\u2019s previous decision on Aguilar\u2019s eligibility status, effectively ending his college career. While he can still appeal Friday\u2019s ruling, On3 reports Aguilar will attend next week\u2019s NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis<\/a> during a 48-hour window that will allow him to maintain his potential collegiate eligibility upon appeal.<\/p>\n

The 24-year-old Aguilar was arguing his junior college experience shouldn\u2019t count toward his NCAA eligibility clock after a four-year JUCO career at City College of San Francisco and Diablo Valley. Aguilar then played two seasons at Appalachian State<\/a>\u00a0between 2023-24 before transferring to Tennessee last April after originally signing with UCLA<\/a> in Dec. 2024. Aguilar and former Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava<\/a> effectively traded places after Iamaleava transferred to the Bruins following Spring practice in Knoxville.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t know who he was until Nico left and he came and it was wonderful, but it doesn\u2019t mean we break the rules \u2014 it doesn\u2019t mean the Vols get something everyone else doesn\u2019t,\u201d NCAA attorney Taylor Askew said in last week\u2019s injunction hearing.<\/p>\n

Aguilar was previously granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) by Heagerty in which the judge said the Vols quarterback had demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits, with the NCAA\u2019s denial of a fourth season likely violating the\u00a0Tennessee Trade Practices Act, but Friday\u2019s ruling dissolves that TRO.<\/p>\n

Tennessee head coach\u00a0Josh Heupel<\/a>\u00a0threw his support behind Aguilar and even filed an affidavit explaining the time crunch that necessitated the temporary injunction. <\/p>\n

\u201cUT would love to have Aguilar back for the upcoming 2026 season. But UT needs to know whether he will be eligible,\u201d Heupel\u2019s statement read. \u201cIt is essential for Joey, his coaches and teammates, and for UT to all know the status of his eligibility as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 On3\u2019s Pete Nakos contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NCAA praised a Knoxville judge\u2019s decision Friday to deny Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar a preliminary injunction in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":766181,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7,5986,49,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-766180","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-joey-aguilar-19-freedom","10":"tag-ncaa","11":"tag-ncaa-football"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116107086928416679","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=766180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}