CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — College athletes who were denied the chance to play immediately after transferring a second time can return to competition — for now — after a federal judge issued a 14-day temporary restraining order Wednesday against the NCAA.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey in northern West Virginia issued the order against the NCAA from enforcing the transfer rule. A lawsuit filed by West Virginia and six other states alleged the rule’s waiver process violated federal antitrust law. The order clears the way for athletes to play during the two-week period and also ensures that schools won’t be punished for allowing it.
The NCAA said in a statement it would comply with the order and notify schools.
The ruling comes while the transfer window is open for football and creates an opportunity for players who have already transferred using their so-called one-time exception for immediate eligibility to enter the portal again and be cleared to compete next season.
A hearing on the restraining order is scheduled for Dec. 27.
NCAA rules allow underclassmen to transfer once without having to sit out a year. But an additional transfer as an undergraduate generally requires the NCAA to grant a waiver allowing the athlete to compete immediately. Without it, the athlete would have to sit out for a year at the new school.
Last January, the NCAA implemented stricter guidelines for granting those waivers on a case-by-case basis.
Bailey wrote that the transfer rule “is the exact kind of unreasonable restraint of trade within labor markets that the relevant antitrust laws prohibit” and that the plaintiffs “have a strong likelihood of success.”
The states involved in seeking the restraining order were Colorado, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether any of the affected players would try to compete during the 14-day window.
West Virginia basketball player RaeQuan Battle transferred this season from Montana State after previously playing at Washington and has been sitting out.
“I’m in the gym every single day with the team, with the blood, sweat and tears with them,” Battle told the court Wednesday. “When the ball is thrown up and that tipoff starts, I’m not suited up. That’s what hurts me the most.”
Battle, who grew up on the Tulalip Indian Reservation in the state of Washington, has said his mental health is a big reason why he came to West Virginia. Battle said he has lost “countless people” to drugs, alcohol and COVID-19.
After Battle visited West Virginia, he learned that now-coach Josh Eilert had lived on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota with his mother following his parents’ divorce and felt a connection with the coach.
West Virginia’s next game is Saturday in Springfield, Massachusetts, against UMass.
“We are consulting with WVU’s General Counsel along with outside counsel prior to making a determination on the eligibility status of any of our student-athletes,” West Virginia athletics said in a statement. “We will discuss this with our student-athletes to make the best decision possible taking into consideration the potential consequences of our decision.”
