NOTE: The story has been updated with quotes from Pavia's attorney, Ryan Downton, about the possibility of another year (2026).

On Wednesday, a Nashville judge entered an injunction that will allow Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia an extra year of eligibility.

Chief United States district judge William Campbell issued the injunction Wednesday afternoon in a memorandum, which reads:

"Pending before the Court is Plaintiff Diego Pavia’s (“Pavia”) Motion for Preliminary Injunction seeking to enjoin Defendant National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) from enforcing certain bylaws governing eligibility to preclude Pavia from playing in a fourth year ofNCAA Division I college football on grounds that enforcement of the eligibility rules violates Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. (Doc. No. 8). Defendant NCAA filed a response in opposition (Doc. No. 30), and Plaintiff filed a Reply (Doc. No. 33). The Court held a hearing on December 3, 2024. For the reasons stated herein, Plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction will be GRANTED."

Pavia's attorney, Ryan Downton of the Texas Trial Group, filed a suit on Pavia's behalf on Nov. 8, 2024. The suit challenges NCAA bylaws that count junior college years against his eligibility because JUCO players have no meaningful opportunity to earn money from NIL.

"Diego is very thankful for the time and effort the judge and his staff put into this ruling and looks forward playing football next year," Downton says.

Campbell's rule likely opens the door for extended eligibility for other JUCO transfers.

"(Judge Campbell) found the NCAA's rule on the far end of the permissible and impermissible, and what that means is that other players who've lost a year because of JUCO will have a good chance of applying to the NCAA for a waiver to get eligibility for next year," Downton said.

Pavia played two years of JUCO football before playing two years at New Mexico State and then the 2024 season at Vanderbilt.

The deadline to enter the NCAA transfer portal is Dec. 28, but Downton believes Pavia will stay put for next season.

"I expect he'll play at Vanderbilt in 2025," Downton says.

"As long as Jerry Kill and Tim Beck are are coaching at Vanderbilt next year, then I think we can expect Diego to be playing at Vanderbilt," he adds later.

The ruling gives Pavia an extra year for now, with the possibility of another year pending another legal proceeding next year.

"Diego only sought one additional year of eligibility in his request for preliminary relief, which the court granted," Downton says. "That means the court has not yet considered his request for a second year under a challenge to the 'redshirt rule.' The court is not likely to take that issue up until some time next year."

Pavia has thrown for 2,123 yards, 17 touchdowns and four interceptions while rushing for 716 and six touchdowns in leading Vanderbilt to a 6-6 regular season. The Southeastern Conference named him its offensive player of the week for his role in upsets of Virginia Tech and Alabama.

Pavia earned Conference USA offensive player of the year honors last season after throwing for 2,973 yards and rushing for 928 last season.

“Plaintiff Diego Pavia brings this action to challenge Bylaws 12.8, 12.02.6, and 14.3.3 (the “JUCO Eligibility Limitation Bylaws”) of Defendant, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”),” the 34-page complaint for injunctive relief, filed by Downton, reads. “These bylaws reduce the number of years former junior college football players can play Division I NCAA football after transferring to an NCAA Division I school and unjustifiably restrains the ability of these college athletics to earn money through the use of their name, image and likeness (“NIL”) connected to their work as a Division I football player. This action seeks declaratory and injunctive relief against Defendant for a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1.”

The lawsuit outlines the limited opportunities for JUCO players against the backdrop of the overall NIL landscape as a basis for the complaint.

“In a landmark 2021 decision (NCAA v. Alston, 594 U.S. 69 (2021)), a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for college athletes to receive compensation for the use of their names, images and likeness (“NIL Compensation”) due to the NCAA’s violation of antitrust laws,” the lawsuit continues. “The market realities of college sports have changed tremendously over the last forty years. For instance, from 1982 to 1984, CBS paid $16 million per year to television the March Madness Division I men’s basketball tournament. In 2016, those annual teleIn 2016, those annual television rights brought in closer to $1.1 billion. As a result, the NCAA is no longer even arguably entitled to any “sort of judicially ordained immunity from the terms of the Sherman Act for its restraints of trade.”

“Reacting to the Supreme Court decision in Alston, the NCAA lifted its prohibition on NCAA athletes receiving NIL Compensation on July 1, 2021. In the three years since, the market for NIL Compensation opportunities available to NCAA Division I athletes has exploded, with the 2024 college football NIL market estimated at $1.1 billion. Significantly, those NIL Compensation opportunities are virtually only available to NCAA Division 1 athletes. In fact, only $6.5 million – less than six tenths of one percent of the $1.1 billion in football NIL Compensation this year projects to go to non-NCAA Division 1 football players.

“In other words, athletes playing football outside of the NCAA monopoly have no meaningful opportunity to profit off their name, image, or likeness. Even so, JUCO Eligibility Limitation Bylaws restrict the ability of athletes who begin their college football careers in junior colleges from having the same opportunity to profit from NIL as students who enter an NCAA institution as freshmen. Specifically, the JUCO Eligibility Bylaws limit athletes who begin their college careers at junior colleges to only two or three seasons of NCAA Division I football, as opposed to the four seasons of competition (and NIL Compensation opportunities) available to all other NCAA Division I football players.”

Vanderbilt plays Georgia Tech in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 27.