Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia was granted a final year of eligibility in 2025 due to his motion for a preliminary injunction.
The injunction was granted in his case, which resulted in the blank quarterback returning for the 2025 season as Vanderbilt’s starting quarterback.
“For reasons stated in the accompanying Memorandum, Plaintiff Diego Pavia’s motion for Preliminary Injunction is GRANTED,” the document reads.
With the ruling, the following requirements are put into effect.
- Defendant NCAA, its servants, agents, employees, and all persons acting in active concert or participation with the NCAA are hereby restrained and enjoined from enforcing NCAA Bylaw 12.02.6 to preclude Pavia from playing NCAA Division 1 football in 2025.
- Defendant NCAA, its servants, agents, employees, and all persons acting in active concert or participation with the NCAA are further restrained and enjoined from enforcing NCAA Bylaw 12.11.4.2, commonly known as the Rule of Restitution against Pavia, Vanderbilt University, and any Division 1 institution for which Pavia chooses to play in 2025.
Pavia, a former junior college prospect, argued that because junior college seasons count toward NCAA eligibility, the action of taking a redshirt season violates several key NCAA rules and regulations. Judge William Campbell agreed with this ideology and granted Pavia the right to suit up this fall as a collegiate quarterback.
While Pavia’s situation granted him the option to return to college football in 2025, the motion could also stem as something more for junior college products across the country. The NCAA has been no stranger to lawsuits in recent years, and with Pavia’s case cemented in the history books, that fact appears to be sticking around for the foreseeable future.
