Diego Pavia emerged as one of the most electrifying players in college football during his first year as quarterback at Vanderbilt, engineering wins over Alabama, Auburn and Kentucky during the SEC season. If he gets his way in the courtroom, his college career won't be over after the Commodores' upcoming bowl game.

Pavia was granted a preliminary injunction against the NCAA in a lawsuit filed in November that challenges eligibility rules around junior college players and the current rules around redshirts. Pavia began his college career with two seasons at New Mexico Military Institute, a JuCo program, before transferring to New Mexico State, where he played for another two years before transferring once again to Vanderbilt for the 2024 season.

Pavia has requested that the two years of eligibility used in junior college be returned to him, arguing that the NCAA's rules impose economic damages on players who are unable to benefit from NIL due to their reduced eligibility.

For now, Pavia is eligible to return to Vanderbilt in 2025 as the lawsuit moves forward.

"Vandy, we're f---ing turnt," Pavia wrote on social media Wednesday night.

In a key passage of the decision shared by Sam C. Ehrlich, an assistant professor of management at Boise State, the court states that the NCAA's arguments against junior college players maintaining eligibility don't hold up given the various other avenues by which a player can delay their eligibility clock:

"The Court is not persuaded that restricting the NCAA Division I eligibility of former junior college athletes to three or four years is relevant to the differentiated athletic product of Division I football. The NCAA eligibility rules allow other forms of post-secondary education and athletic competition without it counting against eligibility. For example, the NCAA does not start the eligibility clock for prep school student-athletes even though those students can earn credit toward a degree and may compete athletically against junior colleges and other schools that qualify as collegiate institutions. And there are a number of reasons eligible student-athletes may be older and stronger than those on the traditional trajectory military service, religious obligations, professional careers in other sports, or even independent athletic or academic work. (See e.g., NCAA Bylaw 12.8.1.2). Given the different treatment of other student-athletes with comparable or more post-secondary experience, the NCAA's assertion that the eligibility rules are necessary to prevent age and experience disparities and preserve the quality of experience for student-athletes falls flat."

Pavia has applied to Vanderbilt's masters’ program for legal studies, according to the Associated Press, a clear signal that he intends to return to the Commodores next season if his eligibility is ultimately restored.

Vanderbilt will close its 2024 schedule at the Birmingham Bowl against Georgia Tech on Dec. 27. The Commodores open '25 at home against Charleston Southern on Aug. 30.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Diego Pavia Granted Preliminary Injunction Against NCAA, Opening Door for CFB Return.

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