Tennessee Judge Delays Ruling in Joey Aguilar Eligibility Case, Keeps QB Eligible Under TRO

Overview

• Chancellor Chris Heagerty said the issues are far-reaching and promised a written opinion in short order after the Feb. 13 hearing.
• Heagerty extended Joey Aguilar’s temporary restraining order, so the Tennessee quarterback remains eligible to play for now.
• The dispute centers on whether junior-college seasons should count toward the NCAA’s four-seasons-in-five-years eligibility clock.
• Aguilar’s lawyers cite irreparable harm and estimate $2–4 million in potential NIL losses, while the NCAA argues he lacks concrete economic evidence and warns of broader disruption to longstanding rules.
• Recent state-level rulings and Aguilar’s case have spurred college-sports commissioners to renew lobbying for the SCORE Act to reestablish uniform national authority over eligibility.