NCAA appealing ruling granting Ole Miss QB Chambliss a 6th year

The NCAA is appealing the preliminary injunction that a Mississippi state court granted to Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, clearing the way for him to be eligible for a sixth college season in 2026.

In a filing Thursday in the Mississippi Supreme Court, the NCAA is appealing the injunction, saying the organization “has final decision-making authority in the interpretation and enforcement of its eligibility rules.”

In the 658-page brief filed Thursday, the NCAA argues that it should receive an interlocutory appeal – an appeal of a non-final order – because the injunction subjects the NCAA to “significant and irreparable harm.”

According to the filing, the NCAA argues that the Chambliss decision goes to the heart of fair play: “The NCAA is responsible for supporting its member institutions and enforcing the rules they adopt. Its impartial enforcement of eligibility rules is necessary to ensure a level playing field among all competitors and to provide opportunities for incoming student-athletes.

“If courts can intervene in NCAA eligibility decisions to grant special treatment to favored athletes, then the NCAA’s ability to ensure fair athletic competition in which all participants play by the same rules will depend on the whims of trial courts across the country.”

The NCAA’s appeal, which was expected and is not unprecedented, will weigh heavily on Ole Miss football and the college football season as a whole this fall. Chambliss will be one of the sport’s most prominent players, and his February injunction, granted by a local judge, was seen as a pivotal moment in shaping the SEC race in 2026.

Chambliss won the SEC Newcomer of the Year award in 2025 after transferring from Division II Ferris State, his rise from obscurity becoming one of sports’ most unexpected storylines of the year.

The NCAA declined further comment, letting the suit speak for itself.

One of Chambliss’ lawyers, Tom Mars, told ESPN: “Everyone remembers when the NCAA appealed to the Supreme Court in the Alston case and had its teeth pulled out by the judge. [Brett]Kavanaugh. I expect the NCAA will spit chiclets in this appeal as well.”

In February, in Lafayette County Chancery Court at the Calhoun County Courthouse in rural Pittsboro, Mississippi, Judge Robert Whitwell ruled in favor of Chambliss in a decision that took more than 90 minutes to read.

Whitwell determined the NCAA ignored medical documents showing Chambliss was medically unready to play during his sophomore season at Ferris State. Chambliss did not play or dress for any games that season, and his appeal to the NCAA, which was rejected by the organization, was for a medical redshirt for that year.

The NCAA argued that Chambliss’ medical records showed he chose to forgo surgery that year in order to participate in the football season.

In the brief filed Thursday with the Mississippi Supreme Court, the NCAA’s main argument focuses on precedent set by the Mississippi Supreme Court that involved an eligibility decision involving the state’s high school association.

The NCAA cited a 2015 decision in Mississippi High School Activities Association Inc. v. Hattiesburg High School. This case involved a female basketball player who sought an injunction against a 2011 MHSAA decision that determined she was ineligible to compete.

The MHSAA declared her ineligible because she transferred to Hattiesburg High less than 60 days before the start of the school year, and therefore not in compliance with its rules.

While the local Chancery Court in Forrest County (where Hattiesburg is located) initially granted an injunction, the state Supreme Court later sided with the high school athletic association, saying such decisions were outside the jurisdiction of state courts because the MHSAA was a voluntary organization and not a government agency.

The Supreme Court noted that “there is no authority – statutory or otherwise – which permits a legal appeal against the decisions of a private voluntary organization.” As such, “we…believe that there is no right of appeal from the decisions of the MHSAA.”

In this case, the NCAA argues that it is akin to the state high school association and therefore the chancery court did not have the authority to make a ruling on Chambliss’ eligibility by the NCAA.