The NCAA on Monday motioned a federal judge to deny Zakai Zeigler’s motion for an injunction in his antitrust lawsuit to keep playing playing Division I basketball as a college graduate who already played four D-1 seasons. The NCAA’s motion sends a warning that Zeigler’s lawsuit could open the door to numerous players staying on teams for years after they graduate—and taking spots away from incoming freshmen.

Zeigler, 22, graduated from the University of Tennessee last month. The 5-foot-9 native of Long Island, N.Y. is a two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year and set several team records. He played all four seasons at Tennessee, where he also received recognition for academic achievement.

Zeigler would like to play a fifth season as a graduate student, but the NCAA only allows four seasons of intercollegiate competition within a five-year window. Zeigler contends the four-seasons rule violates antitrust law by depriving him and similarly situated players of athletic skill development and NIL opportunities—Zeigler contends he’d earn as much as $4 million in NIL in 2025-26 since he’s a well-known and successful college player from a prominent program. He argues there’s a less restrictive approach where the NCAA could allow for an additional season if a player completed their undergraduate degree in four years, meaning they did not red shirt and their academic advancement followed the typical path for college students.

The NCAA repudiates Zeigler’s arguments in a brief authored by Taylor J. Askew and Rakesh Kilaru and colleagues from Holland & Knight and Wilkinson Stekloff. Among the points raised in the NCAA’s brief is that Zeigler is not an NBA prospect and thus an additional season is unlikely to make him a candidate for the NBA. “All publicly available evidence indicates that Plaintiff, respectfully, has a difficult path to the NBA, at this juncture,” the brief states.

The brief acknowledges that Zeigler is a terrific college player—he’s the all-time leading scorer and assist leader in Tennessee history—but pivots from that point to assert, “presumably, if [Zeigler] had a viable path to the NBA, given his resume, he would already be a viable prospect. After all, NBA scouts would have seen him play in 138 collegiate contests.” The brief also bluntly mentions, “there is no proof in the record that Plaintiff was even invited to either the NBA Combine or G-League Combine this year.”

Similarly, the NCAA highlights how “there is no evidence that one more season of participation in college basketball is necessary” for Zeigler to play pro hoops. To that point, Zeigler could have tried to join the NBA, G League or a foreign league years ago. He met their minimum age and experience requirements but chose to remain in college and advance toward a degree.

Zeigler is also depicted as selfish. As the NCAA spins it, Zeigler is asking a court to make him the first college athlete “in history” to obtain a judicial decree to play a fifth season “as a matter of right.” If Zeigler is granted that chance, there would be a loser: a roster spot for a graduating high school senior would otherwise join the Volunteers would be “reapportioned” to Zeigler.

In fact, the NCAA estimates that if college seniors who played four seasons could play another season and chose to do so, somewhere between 20% and 25% of roster spots that would have gone to incoming freshmen would be lost. “While Plaintiff focuses only on what that means for himself,” the NCAA writes, “he does so to the detriment of the entering student-athletes who dream of being the next Zakai Zeigler.”

In that same spirit, the NCAA defends the four seasons rule as reflecting “the lifecycle of a collegiate athlete.” Stated differently, NCAA sports are intended to be a career. A college student plays a sport and their college athletic career time ordinarily ends when they graduate. This “lifecycle,” the NCAA argues, ensures a “steady stream of opportunities” for graduating high school players to gain a college education and play sports. 

“College athletics,” the NCAA asserts, “is a means to a better end for student-athletes—not the end itself.”

The NCAA also maintains that Zeigler, like other athletes who have sued the NCAA in recent months to extend their eligibility, has “misapprehended” the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in NCAA v. Alston (2021) for legal principles that the Court rejected. 

Although Alston is sometimes linked to NIL, the case had nothing to do with NIL. The NCAA stresses that Alston only addressed compensation rules for athletes’ education-related expenses, which are subject to antitrust scrutiny since they involve commercial activity. However, Alston does “not touch” eligibility rules, which the NCAA asserts fall outside the scope of antitrust scrutiny. As the NCAA tells it, eligibility rules are not about commercial transactions and instead concern who counts as a college athlete—a “necessary” ingredient “to create the product of collegiate sports.” Even Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s oft-cited concurring opinion, in which lambasted the NCAA and amateurism, explicitly stated that Alston “involves only a narrow subset of the NCAA’s compensation rules.”

The NCAA further asserts that relevant precedent in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which governs the Tennessee federal court where Zeigler sued, also instructs that eligibility rules fall outside the scope of antitrust scrutiny. As the NCAA recently cited in an appellate brief in Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia’s case against the NCAA regarding eligibility rules, the Sixth Circuit held in Claude Bassett v. NCAA (2008) that enforcement of NCAA rules “is not within the purview of antitrust law” since those rules are not related to commercial or business activities.

Another alleged defect in Zeigler’s lawsuit is that it has “no limiting principle,” meaning if a player has a legal right to play a fifth season so they can earn more NIL and further refine athletic skills, the same player could raise the same argument for a sixth season and so on. Universities have no shortage of graduate programs in which an athlete could remain enrolled for, at least in theory, many years.

The NCAA also contends that a core premise of Zeigler’s lawsuit, which argues that removing experienced college players harms the labor market, is erroneous. While Zeigler suggests NIL deals are most lucrative for seniors, the NCAA says “non-seniors, on average, have higher NIL valuations than seniors.” The NCAA’s expert witness, Cal Berkeley economics professor Matthew Backus, provided a declaration referencing that individual NIL valuations for college basketball players shows that non-seniors’ have a higher average NIL valuation than seniors, $1.2 million compared to $1.07 million.

The issuance of a preliminary injunction for Zeigler, the NCAA argues, is also misplaced because any harm he suffers from not playing can be quantified. A core element to a preliminary injunction is that denial of one by a judge would likely cause the plaintiff irreparable harm, meaning a harm that money damages can’t remedy. 

The NCAA maintains there are several problems with Zeigler claiming irreparable harm. One is that he “has known since his first day on campus that he had five years to complete four seasons” and yet waited until after he graduated college to sue. The NCAA believes that Zeigler manufactured an emergency when in reality, he could have sued years ago, giving the court time to review the case’s merits.

Also, the NCAA asserts, any injury Zeigler suffers by a denial to keep playing would be calculable. 

The NCAA notes that Zeigler didn’t enter the transfer portal, “unlike 100+ other collegiate basketball players who have exhausted their eligibility but are either contemplating suing for more or hoping for an NCAA rule change.” If Zeigler plays another season, “he will assuredly play for the University of Tennessee,” the NCAA points out. Zeigler submitted a supporting exhibit of data from Spyre Sports Group, which has an NIL collective for Tennessee athletics and estimates Zeigler’s NIL value in another season would be worth $2 million to $4 million. That is important, the NCAA maintains, because it shows Zeigler’s potential legal injury could be resolved by monetary damages if he eventually wins a trial.

U.S. District Judge Katherine A. Crytzer will hold a hearing on Zeigler’s motion for a preliminary injunction on Friday at 1:45 pm local time in a Knoxville (Tenn.) federal courthouse.

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – For the third consecutive year, five members of the Western Michigan baseball team have been named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team®. Redshirt senior outfielder Dylan Nevar earned a selection for the third straight year, grad student left-hander Reese Gaber was a second-time honoree and the trio of sophomore center fielder Tanner Mally, senior infielder Michael Maloney and junior right-hander Ty McKinstry picked up their first selections.  
 
An Academic All-America Second Team selection last year, Nevar had another strong season for the Broncos, batting .301 and leading the team in doubles (13), home runs (9), RBIs (49) and slugging percentage (.539). The Wisconsin Dells, Wis., native graduated this spring with a 3.91 GPA in Electrical Engineering, and wrapped up his Western Michigan career with the program’s all-time records for both RBIs and total bases, and tied for the program’s all-time home run record. He also leaves Kalamazoo ranking inside the top-10 all-time in hits, runs scored and doubles.
 

Selected to the Academic All-District Team® last year at the University of Sioux Falls, Gaber earned the honor again this spring after serving as one of Western Michigan’s weekend starters for much of the season. The lefty made 14 appearances, 11 starts, for the Broncos and tied for the team lead in wins, ranked second in strikeouts and was third in innings pitched. He also worked 6.0 innings of WMU’s combined no-hitter against The Citadel on April 6. Gaber owns a 3.88 GPA in his graduate studies towards a master’s certificate in Organizational Change & Leadership.
 

Mally is coming off of a sophomore campaign which saw his work in the outfield earn him a spot on the All-MAC Defensive Team. An Advertising & Promotion major with a 3.84 GPA, Mally posted a .973 fielding percentage with five outfield assists this spring, and did not make an error in MAC play. The Lisle, Ill., native was terrific at the plate as well, ranking fifth in the league with a .356 batting average and pacing the Brown and Gold in hits, runs scored and on-base percentage.
 
A Sport Management major with a 3.55 GPA, Maloney batted .304 with a .406 on-base percentage and finished second on Western Michigan with 37 RBIs. In the latter stages of the season, the Mokena, Ill., native put together a 16-game hitting streak, the longest streak by a Bronco in 2025. Maloney hit .418 with 20 RBIs over the course of his 16-game run, raising his batting average by more than 80 points.
 
Western Michigan’s Friday starter this spring, McKinstry paced the Brown and Gold’s staff with 71.2 innings pitched and 51 strikeouts while tying for the team lead in wins over his 14 starts. The righty ranked sixth in the conference in both ERA (5.02) and opposing batting average (.245), and improved those numbers to 3.58 and .221, respectively, in conference play. A native of Frankenmuth, Mich., McKinstry is an Exercise Science major with a 3.94 GPA.
 
The 2025 Academic All-District® Baseball teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the diamond and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes baseball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
 
Nevar has been selected as a CSC Academic All-America® finalist and will advance to the national ballot to be voted on by CSC members.

DALLAS – The Southeastern Conference (SEC), ESPN and Learfield announce the extension of the SEC Championship radio broadcast and publications partnership, ensuring continued coverage of premier SEC championship events. This agreement solidifies the commitment to delivering high-quality coverage across multiple platforms, including radio broadcasts and digital publications, for a wide range of SEC sports. Fans can look forward to continued coverage of football, women’s basketball, men’s basketball, baseball, softball and women’s soccer via radio broadcasts, along with programming and digital content.

Key highlights of this extended partnership include:

• Comprehensive Radio Coverage: Live broadcasts of the SEC football championship game, men’s and women’s basketball tournament games, baseball and softball tournament games, and the SEC women’s soccer championship game.
• Reports & Special Programming: Dedicated broadcast reports for football and men’s basketball.
• Digital Distribution: SEC coverage will continue to be streamed on Learfield’s Varsity Network App, on SECsports.com and via satellite radio on SiriusXM
• Learfield will continue to produce and broadcast multiple SEC football preview shows and a series of football, men’s, and women’s basketball broadcasts under the SEC Radio Network brand. These broadcasts capture the excitement and insights of SEC sports throughout the season, including championship games.

Additionally, Learfield will continue to produce the official SEC championship digital programs for various sports, including football, basketball, baseball, soccer, softball, gymnastics, and volleyball. These programs provide enhanced digital content and in-depth coverage of SEC championship events.

Since its inception in 2013, this partnership has yielded an impressive impact on both digital impressions garnered and total listening hours of SEC championship broadcasts. As this partnership progresses, the SEC and Learfield remain committed to providing fans with the most comprehensive, high-quality coverage of SEC championship events.

About Learfield
Learfield is the leading media and technology company powering college athletics. Through its digital and physical platforms, Learfield owns and leverages a deep data set and relationships in the industry to drive revenue, growth, brand awareness, and fan engagement for brands, sports, and entertainment properties. With ties to over 1,200 collegiate institutions and over 12,000 local and national brand partners, Learfield’s presence in college sports and live events delivers influence and maximizes reach to target audiences. With solutions for a 365-day, 24/7 fan experience, Learfield enables schools and brands to connect with fans through licensed merchandise, game ticketing, donor identification for athletic programs, exclusive custom content, innovative marketing initiatives, NIL solutions, and advanced digital platforms. Since 2008, it has served as title sponsor for the acclaimed Learfield Directors’ Cup, supporting athletic departments across all divisions.

About the Southeastern Conference
A pioneer in the integration of higher education and athletic competition, the Southeastern Conference is a leader for intercollegiate athletics in the 21st century.  Since its formation in 1933, the SEC has achieved stature and stability by designating governing/voting power to the presidents of the member institutions. These university leaders determine the policies of the conference and through the years this involvement has been the principal source of strength in the evolution of the SEC.  Throughout its history, the SEC has provided leadership on the vital issues facing intercollegiate competition.  Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt have been in the SEC since its formation in 1933.  The league has expanded three times, adding Arkansas and South Carolina in 1991, Missouri and Texas A&M in 2012, and Oklahoma and Texas 2024.

About SEC Network
The Southeastern Conference and ESPN launched SEC Network on August 14, 2014. The network televises hundreds of games across the SEC’s 21 sports annually. Programming includes in-depth analysis and storytelling in studio shows such as SEC Nation, Marty & McGee, Out Of Pocket, Read & React and Rally Cap, daily news and information with The Paul Finebaum Show and SEC Now, original content such as the Emmy Award-winning TrueSouth, SEC Storied and SEC Inside, and more. Hundreds of additional live events are available for streaming exclusively on SEC Network’s digital companion, SEC Network+, via the ESPN App and SECNetwork.com. Follow SEC Network on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Twitter/X.

The current era of College Football is becoming known as the NIL and Transfer Portal era. The landscape of the sport has shifted heavily over the past several years as College athletes are now allowed to receive financial compensation while players are able to move from program to program on a yearly basis thanks to the transfer portal.

While nearly every powerhouse in College Football accepted the new rules as they allowed the rich to get richer, one Coach has resisted the changes more than anyone else. Dabo Swinney has fought against the idea of the Transfer Portal since its inception, only adding two transfers before this year in veterans to serve as backup quarterbacks. This year, after sitting by for years watching everyone else load up, Swinney finally showed that he could’ve gone all out in the transfer portal the entire time, showing he wasn’t complaining because he couldn’t add transfers.

Dabo Swinney calls for rules in the Transfer Portal

This week, Dabo Swinney went on the College GameDay podcast calling for a clear set of rules with the transfer portal.

“I think we’re coming out of a period of complete chaos and where there’s no cap, the schools can’t handle things directly, it comes from outside entities. You have the agent process is not regulated. I mean, there’s a lot of challenges, but I do think that we’re about to enter into a much more structured environment that is going to, it might take a year, but I think it’s going to create some markets, you know, to where there’ll be some transparency, there’s an actual cap. I think the best thing about the settlement is it keeps college football scholastic.”

Dabo Swinney

While Dabo Swinney is calling for changes to the rules, he’s certainly calling for the correct changes to the sport. College Football has no regulations as it currently stands as agents are shopping players to schools before they ever enter the transfer portal rather than the player entering for the right reasons.

The NIL side of this equation has played a massive factor in the chaos as well as some of the agents aren’t as qualified as they may need to be while the outside parties promising the money haven’t always been the best groups leading to situations like Matthew Sluka sitting out after starting the year at UNLV or Jaden Rashada suing Florida and Billy Napier.

If the House Settlement is ever finalized it’ll bring regulatory parties on board to ensure the NIL deals that are being reported are truly being made for the right reasons. The House Settlement will also allow schools to pay players money through revenue sharing which is the salary cap that Dabo Swinney refers to.

“So you know, some years you might have that fourth year quarterback that you have a lot of money invested in, or you may have two senior tackles and a great wideout or a great corner, and then the next year, those guys move on. So there’s some money freed up, so it might give you more flexibility within your cap in recruiting, because you do have to, you got to retain talent. You got to acquire talent. But I do think that you figure out, just like the NFL, you play premium players at premium positions, right? And if you pay the wrong guys, you’re in trouble.”

Dabo Swinney

The example Swinney lays out it the exact scenario that College Football fans should look forward to in this current era of College Football. Setting a “Cap” on NIL Deals will allow talent to balance at schools across the Country rather than the same group of schools constantly poaching players simply because they have more money than everyone else.

While Dabo Swinney might just be calling for changes at this point, the changes could soon come making College Football a much better place.

More Clemson News:

On paper, things are looking better for the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team following this portal cycle. Last season, after a stunning portal mass exodus, the Hokies tried filling holes through the portal, but when the dust settled, Mike Young didn’t have as big of an NIL package as other schools, and it led to slim pickings.

Back in March, it was reported that Young had a bigger NIL package to work with this offseason, and while you can’t say that it has played a big role in this portal cycle, Young has landed some promising talent. One college basketball writer thinks one addition is going to make a quick impact in Blacksburg.

Jeff Borzello of ESPN ranks Virginia Tech’s incoming transfer inside the Top 100

Back in March, Izaiah Pasha opened some eyes for Delaware in the CAA Tournament as he helped the Blue Hens almost pull off a miracle conference tournament run to the NCAA Tournament. He has 21 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in a Championship Game loss to UNC Wilmington. 

He committed to Virginia Tech in the portal, and Borzello ranked him in the Top 100 transfer rankings. Here is what he wrote,

“Mike Young has put a premium on outside shooting during his time as a head coach, so Pasha’s development in that area will be key to his success in Blacksburg. He’ll be given the keys to this offense immediately upon arrival; it’s easy to see him forming an effective ball-screen duo with Amani Hansberry or Tobi Lawal.”

Maybe the biggest news to come out of this offseason for Young and the Hokies was Tobi Lawal officially returning to Blacksburg after withdrawing from the NBA Draft. Along with West Virginia transfer Amani Hansberry, it gives Virginia Tech two players who can execute a pick and roll with the ability to finish big time at the basket.

Rising sophomore Ben Hammond returns and he’ll have a say when all is said and done when it comes to getting the keys to running things, but Pasha can fill a number of needed roles and if he can shoot the ball better, then the Hokies all of sudden have a better backcourt than they had last season.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Fresh off its second consecutive NCAA Regional title, the West Virginia University baseball team will head to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for the NCAA Super Regionals. The Super Regional round will begin on Saturday, June 7 at 2 p.m. Sunday’s game two will be at 6 p.m. with game three’s if necessary game time on Monday still to be determined.

All 2025 WVU Baseball season ticket holders and current MAC members at the $10,000 membership level and above who are not season ticket holders can now log in to their account at WVUGAME.com to purchase priority postseason tickets. Fans may purchase up to four (4) Super Regional all-session tickets from June 3 through June 4 at 12 pm, with seat locations subject to availability. These purchases can be made by logging into their account at WVUGAME.com, navigating to “Event List” under the “Buy Tickets” tab, then selecting “Baseball” and “Baseball Post-Season Tickets.” Additional non-season ticket purchases are subject to availability and will be evaluated based on MAC annual membership levels and the priority points ranking within each level.

 

These limited tickets will be in reserved seating and will be priced at $45. Exact seat locations will be confirmed when allocated by the Mountaineer Ticket Office.

 

Fans will be notified by end of day on Wednesday, June 4 if their ticket request has been processed. All tickets will be e-mailed to the customer e-mail address provided during the request.

Free parking for fans is available in the Hayfield Lot, Levee Lot, and Old Front Nine Lot.  A shuttle runs to and from the Hayfield Lot and drops off in front of the stadium in front of the ticket office.

A limited number of parking permits will go on sale to the public date and time to be announced.  Permits will be available for purchase online at www.LSUTIX.net

 

A limited number of free ADA parking is available to fans.  Fans can access the Hall of Fame Lot and Bullpen Lot by showing their state issued handicap driver’s license or handicap hangtag.  These spots are first-come, first-serve and limited.

 

For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.