Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has moved to intervene on behalf of the state in a state court case regarding a controversial NCAA eligibility rule.
In Murrill’s filings October 1, the state seeks to intervene on the side of Zachary Palmer-Smith in his case against the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which involves the eligibility of Louisville-Monroe student-athletes Palmer-Smith and Kevontay Wells. It was filed in 4th Judicial District Court in Ouachita Parish, and the state asks to join the case before an October 7 preliminary injunction hearing.
Murrill says the state has an interest in protecting Louisiana student-athletes and public institutions from what it calls the NCAA’s unlawful application of its new five-season eligibility rule.
“This system should not and cannot be ‘heads NCAA wins, tails athletes and their universities lose,’” Murrill said. “Louisiana law imposes an obligation of good faith in the performance of contractual relationships – that duty runs between the universities and their student athletes as well as between the NCAA and its members.
“The best course forward is one that considers the circumstances of all those who must live under the NCAA or its conferences’ ever-changing rules. The 2022 student-athletes are entitled to relief.”
The case is part of a broader litigation across the country about whether athletes who began college in 2022 should receive a fifth season under the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility framework. The case was filed by Palmer-Smith and dozens of other athletes across multiple sports, including football players who briefly signed with NFL teams.
The plaintiffs contend the NCAA acted unfairly and contrary to its own commitments by adopting a five-season eligibility structure but not extending comparable relief to the cohort whose careers began in the 2022-23 academic year.
The NCAA’s revised rule allows athletes to play five seasons within a five-year window starting when they enroll in college or in the academic year after their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first.
The lawsuit argues the 2022 class fell into a gap: earlier athletes received pandemic-related or other eligibility relief, while future athletes benefit from the new rule. But these plaintiffs were left limited by the old system. Their claims include the NCAA breached a covenant of good faith in withholding the additional season.
This complaint was especially consequential because it included athletes who had:
· Exhausted eligibility under the former rules but sought a fifth season.
Needed an opportunity to transfer after the normal portal period.
Signed contracts with NFL teams or appeared on NFL rosters, a status traditionally disqualifying them from returning to NCAA competition.
On August 19, Judge William Jorden granted a temporary restraining order for the group, initially allowing them to pursue the requested fifth year while the case proceeded. On September 3, Jorden granted a preliminary injunction concluding the plaintiffs had shown a sufficient likelihood of success – or at least met Louisiana’s standard for interim relief – to prevent the NCAA from enforcing the challenged eligibility restrictions while the case continues.
The injunction was broad in its consequences.
It prevented the NCAA from enforcing the fifth-year restriction against the plaintiff athletes while the litigation is pending. It also barred enforcement against schools that signed or played the 42 plaintiffs. And, it affected the SEC’s attempt to restrict schools from adding or playing athletes who had declared for a professional draft without withdrawing, signed professional contracts, or appeared on pro rosters.
The controversy intensified when LSU explored adding former Ole Miss players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris – both of whom had short NFL affiliations –to its roster. The SEC adopted a policy aimed at prohibiting member schools from adding athletes who had declared for the NFL, NBA or WNBA draft without withdrawing, signed pro contracts or appeared on league rosters.
The SEC then separately sued LSU, the LSU Board of Supervisors, university leadership and football coach Lane Kiffin over LSU’s stated plan to use players who had received the Louisiana court’s protection. That related dispute made the case a clash not only between athletes and the NCAA, but also among the NCAA, an autonomous conference and one of the conference’s member institutions.
Despite the injunction, LSU initially did not add Wright and Harris to its 105-player roster for the season opener, citing unresolved ramifications. They were enrolled at LSU but could not practice until officially added to the roster.
As of now, the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal has refused to suspend Jorden’s preliminary injunction while the SEC’s appeal proceeds. That means the interim order remains in force for now. The SEC still may seek review from the Louisiana Supreme Court, and the underlying claims remain to be litigated in the trial court.
Nationally, more than 100 athletes had filed fifth-year eligibility suits by August, and courts in several jurisdictions had issued temporary relief in similar cases.
