The NCAA Division I Board of Directors on Monday approved a blanket waiver granting an extra year of eligibility to former college transfers at positions similar to Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, opening the door for a wave of college athletes of all sports pass another year. in college athletics.
According to an NCAA memo, the waiver extends an additional year of eligibility in 2025-26 to athletes who previously “competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years” and who would have otherwise exhausted their eligibility. for the NCAA after the 2024-25 season. .
The NCAA's decision comes five days after a federal judge in Tennessee granted an injunction to allow Pavia, a former college transfer who played his freshman season at Vanderbilt in 2024, to seek an additional year of college eligibility on next fall.
In its memo announcing the waiver, the NCAA also announced that it had filed a notice of appeal to the ruling in the Pavia case.
Pavia sued the NCAA in November over its eligibility standards, arguing that the organization's rule of counting a player's college years against his overall NCAA eligibility violates antitrust laws by restricting an athlete's ability to profit from his name, image and likeness.
Last week's court order applied only to Pavia and would have prevented the NCAA from barring the Vanderbilt quarterback from returning next fall. However, Monday's ruling by the NCAA will now allow other similarly situated athletes — former college players who would have been out of eligibility after this season — to return for an additional year in 2025-26.
The exemption does not extend to all college athletes, only those who would have completed their NCAA eligibility this year.
Pavia's lawsuit and subsequent court order have potentially paved the way for hundreds of former college athletes to gain an extra year of eligibility in 2025-26.
Pavia completed 59.2% of his passes for 2,133 yards and 17 touchdowns with four interceptions while leading Vanderbilt to a 6-6 finish in 2024. He joined the Commodores after two seasons at New Mexico State after begin his college career at the New Mexico Military Institute. a two-year college.
Under NCAA rules, athletes are typically given five years to play four seasons. Among the arguments in Pavia's lawsuit is that the NCAA unfairly counted his time in junior college (played outside the organization's purview) against his NCAA eligibility and, in turn, limited his ability to earn money from your name, image and likeness. .
Under the new waiver, Pavia will be granted a sixth year of NCAA eligibility next fall.
Florida State wide receiver Malik Benson thought he had used up his final year of eligibility after playing for the Seminoles in 2024, Alabama in 2023 and the previous two seasons at Hutchinson Community College. He told ESPN's Pete Thamel on Monday that he plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal in the wake of the ruling and feels blessed to have the opportunity to play one more year.
Benson and his agent had contacted attorney Darren Heitner, who works in college sports, to request an additional year. They had a 28-page complaint prepared, but they never had to present it.
“I'm glad the Lord blessed me with another opportunity and another year,” Benson told Thamel. “I won't take this for granted.”
Benson is expected to be one of many who return to school or enter the portal to take advantage of the ruling.
News of the NCAA waiver and Pavia's lawsuit comes days before Vanderbilt participates in its first bowl game since 2018. Pavia and the Commodores will face Georgia Tech in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 27 (3:30 pm, ESPN).
