Judge issues restraining order against NCAA temporarily granting eligibility for multi-time transfers

U.S. District Court Judge John Bailey issued a temporary restraining order on Wednesday against the NCAA rule requiring multi-time transfers to sit out a season. The ruling, which came in the Northern District of West Virginia, opens the door for transfers sidelined due to NCAA rules to be eligible immediately.

The temporary restraining order is active for just 14 days, however. The ultimate legal fate of the NCAA’s transfer restrictions has yet to be adjudicated. In the meantime, the decision marks another blow against the NCAA, which is reeling amid a changing a landscape in college sports that has seen the organizing body lose its ability to effectively govern.

The NCAA is expected to appeal, and the next hearing has been set for Dec. 27. But for now, the NCAA is standing down on the issue. “As a result of today’s decision impacting Division I student-athletes, the Association will not enforce the year in residency requirement for multiple-time transfers and will begin notifying member schools,” the NCAA said in a statement.

A pair of lawsuits — one by the attorneys general from seven states and one from West Virginia basketball player RaeQuan Battle — both allege the NCAA’s transfer restriction violated antitrust law. Because Battle was a third-time, non-graduate transfer, he was denied immediate eligibility by the NCAA; however, Wednesday’s ruling clears the way for the former Washington and Montana State guard to suit up for the Mountaineers as a key member of the team’s rotation. 

Dozens of other second-time transfers around college basketball have also been sitting out to begin the 2023-24 season after their waivers were denied. The issue was prevalent in college football during the 2023 season as well. Most notably, North…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/judge-issues-restraining-order-against-ncaa-temporarily-granting-eligibility-for-multi-time-transfers/

Author : David Cobb

Publish date : 2023-12-13 20:39:22

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