The NCAA lost again in court, and Indiana got two pass rushers back.
Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Kara E. Krothe granted a preliminary injunction Wednesday morning covering Hoosiers edge rushers Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt, along with the other plaintiffs in the case, allowing them to compete until trial.
The ruling bars the NCAA and its conferences from blocking plaintiffs from Division I competition in 2026-27 on the basis of having already played four seasons or not having entered the transfer portal.
These two have been through a lot
Both players competed four seasons at the Division I level and sought a fifth under the NCAA’s five-for-five framework for the 2022 entering class. Both also suffered severe injuries last season, which is the part that makes the NCAA’s position look worst.
They returned to Indiana in August through a lower-court ruling. The U.S. Court of Appeals overturned that on Aug. 21. A temporary restraining order then let Daley play the Hoosiers’ first two games, where he recorded six tackles.
When the TRO expired, both missed Indiana’s most recent game. They are back now, at least until trial.
The NCAA keeps losing these
This is not an isolated ruling. A Louisiana judge granted a preliminary injunction against the NCAA in a separate fifth-year eligibility case in early September involving LSU.
The pattern is clear enough that it barely qualifies as news anymore. Athletes sue over eligibility rules, judges grant injunctions, athletes play, and the NCAA’s enforcement framework erodes another inch.
The organization has also eliminated the spring football transfer portal window, leaving January as the only window. Tightening one rule while courts dismantle another is not a strategy.
Indiana did not need the help
Here is the funny part. The fifth-ranked Hoosiers just shut out Western Kentucky 38-0 without either player, and the defense has posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1993.
Indiana plays Northwestern on Friday with a chance at a 20th consecutive victory. This is one of the best teams in the country and it has been winning without the two guys the NCAA was trying to sideline.
Which raises an obvious question about what exactly the NCAA thought it was protecting.
The bigger issue
Every one of these rulings is temporary. Injunctions last until trial, and trials produce outcomes that can go either way. Players are competing on legal reprieves that could evaporate mid-season.
That is a terrible way to run a sport. Athletes deserve to know whether they are eligible before they report to camp, not after a judge reviews a filing in Week 4.
The NCAA could fix this by writing a coherent eligibility rule that survives a courtroom. Instead it keeps defending the old ones and keeps losing. Daley and Wyatt play Friday. Somebody else sues next month.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.