As expected, U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey ordered Monday for the 14-day temporary restraining order against the NCAA to be extended through the completion of the 2024 spring sports season, allowing student-athletes previously burdened by transfer rules to play through that period without restriction.
Bailey signed the order Monday at U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, which eliminates a previously scheduled preliminary injunction hearing for December 27 and allows the TRO to stay in place until the court decides on merits of the case.
Last Friday, the Ohio v. NCAA took a significant twist when Attorneys General from seven states, including West Virginia’s Patrick Morrisey, filed a joint motion with the NCAA to convert the TRO into a preliminary injunction that would last well beyond the previously ordered 14-day window.
The NCAA agreed to it and Bailey’s approval was the final step to allow two-time transfers without a waiver immediate eligibility.
“This is a great day for student athletes — they will finally be able to compete in the sport they love,” Morrisey said. “It’s the right thing to do and I couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome.”
West Virginia’s men’s basketball team capitalized on the recent ruling by playing guard Noah Farrakhan on Saturday in a loss to Massachusetts. Farrakhan sat out each of the Mountaineers’ first nine games and a guard that previously played at East Carolina and Eastern Michigan had been expected to miss the entire season as WVU had not even filed a waiver on his behalf.
Fifth-year guard RaeQuan Battle, who was involved in a separate case against the NCAA and testified last Wednesday in Wheeling, was also expected to make his WVU debut over the weekend, though Battle missed the game with flu-like symptoms.
Battle previously played two seasons at both Washington and Montana State but has not appeared in one for West Virginia to this point, though that likely changes this week.
Battle had a waiver denied by the NCAA as well as an appeal, but can use his final season of college eligibility to play the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
During testimony, he touched on the importance of playing basketball to his mental health and struggles in his life at both previous college stops.
Morrisey worked with an Ohio-led bipartisan coalition of seven states to challenge the NCAA’s Transfer Eligibility Rule. The lawsuit was filed after the NCAA denied Battle’s transfer waiver.
“I hope this is the beginning of real change within the NCAA,” Morrisey said. “We have to put the well-being of student athletes — physical, mental, academic and emotional — first. The NCAA needs to enact consistent, logical and defensible rules that are fair and equitable for everyone.”