Virginia QB Chandler Morris sues NCAA for seventh yr of eligibility

Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris filed a lawsuit towards the NCAA in the hunt for a seventh yr of eligibility, his agent tells CBS Sports activities’ Chris Hummer. Morris filed the swimsuit in a Virginia state court docket after the NCAA denied in January his request for an eligibility waiver.

The idea of Morris’ waiver request was that he sustained accidents at TCU in 2022 and 2023, and he argued that he ought to have certified for medical redshirts in each campaigns. Morris performed 4 video games in 2022 and 7 video games in 2023 after using a redshirt in 2021. His 2020 season at Oklahoma didn’t depend towards his eligibility clock because of the one-time waiver granted to all athletes because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Morris stayed wholesome every of the final two seasons and performed full campaigns at North Texas and Virginia. He led the American convention in passing yards (3,774) and touchdowns (31) in 2024 and transitioned properly to the ACC, the place he guided Virginia to the primary 11-win season in program historical past and a berth within the convention championship recreation.

If the court docket grants Morris reduction towards the NCAA’s eligibility guidelines, he might return to Virginia in the hunt for Faculty Soccer Playoff rivalry. The Cavaliers climbed as excessive as No. 14 in final season’s CFP Prime 25 rankings and would have secured an automated berth into the bracket had they defeated Duke within the ACC title recreation.

Morris’ swimsuit towards the NCAA is the most recent instance of an athlete making an attempt to make use of the court docket system to realize extra eligibility. These circumstances have largely outlined the early portion of the faculty soccer offseason, and athletes discovered blended outcomes.

A Missississippi decide granted Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss a brief injunction that can permit him to spend one other season with the Rebels on the heels of a stellar debut marketing campaign as one of many SEC’s high signal-callers. Chambliss made an analogous petition to Morris, stating that he was bodily unable to compete in 2022 resulting from a respiratory situation.

Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar, in the meantime, was denied injunctive reduction in a ruling that served as a serious victory for the NCAA. Aguilar’s case was totally different from the others, as he argued that his years spent in junior school mustn’t depend towards his NCAA eligibility clock. That was the argument former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia used to realize an extra yr in a landmark case final offseason.