The United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia ruled in favor of four WVU Football players on Aug. 20, granting a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to allow Jimmori Robinson, Jeffrey Weimer, Tye Edwards and Justin Harrington eligibility for the 2025 season.
The 67-page opinion from United States District Judge John Bailey comes after a complaint was filed by the athletes against the NCAA on Aug. 1. The complaint alleges the NCAA wrongfully denied the athletes’ eligibility for the 2025 season, based on time previously spent at non-NCAA institutions.
“The NCAA will be enjoined from enforcing the Five-Year Rule as it applies to Jimmori Robinson, Jeffrey Weimer, Tye Edwards and Justin Harrington. The NCAA is ordered to immediately grant West Virginia University and/or Jimmori Robinson, Jeffrey Weimer, Tye Edwards and Justin Harrington’s waivers of any NCAA eligibility rule that would preclude them from engaging in intercollegiate competition in the 2025–2026 season based on their time spent at a junior college,” the opinion said.
The athletes played at non-NCAA institutions, also known as junior colleges, and transferred to various NCAA institutions before enrolling at WVU.
Due to time spent at junior colleges, the athletes would be ineligible to play at WVU this season, due to the “Five-Year Rule,” which allows athletes to play four seasons of a sport within five years, according to the opinion.
“Generally, the NCAA Bylaws require that a student-athlete meet certain eligibility standards. In relevant part, the NCAA Bylaws restrict the duration of a student-athlete’s eligibility to compete to four seasons within a five-year period, regardless of whether the school is an NCAA member,” the opinion said.
However, the complaint alleges that, due to a blanket waiver announced in December 2024 to extend eligibility for athletes who spent one or more years at non-NCAA institutions, the athletes believed they would be eligible for this season.
The complaint alleges that the athletes did not enter the 2025 NFL Draft because they thought they would have one more year of eligibility.
“Because the NCAA announced it was granting a waiver to all players whose eligibility was ending due to their time playing for non-NCAA institutions, Robinson withdrew his name from the National Football League draft and attempted to join the WVU football team because he believed the waiver applied to him,” the opinion said.
In a statement sent to The Daily Athenaeum, NCAA Associate Director of External Communications Saquandra Heath said the ruling will prevent high school students from having athletic opportunities in college.
“This ruling will lead to high school students losing opportunities to compete in college athletics and it erodes the academic standards that have for decades ensured student-athletes obtained an education,” Heath said.“The NCAA and its member schools are making changes to deliver more benefits to student-athletes, but the patchwork of state laws and differing court opinions are why partnering with Congress is essential to provide stability for all college athletes.”
The DA also contacted the athletes’ lawyers for comment, which has yet to be received. This article will be updated with their statements when they become available.
WVU Football begins its 2025 season against Robert Morris University at 2 p.m. on Aug. 30 at Milan Puskar Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and can be heard on U92 The Moose.
