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Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joey Aguilar was granted a temporary restraining order in his ongoing lawsuit against the NCAA seeking an additional year of eligibility for the 2026 college football season, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday (February 4).
Aguilar filed the lawsuit in Knox County Chancery Court last week, arguing that he should be granted a fourth year of Division I football, rather than being penalized for his time in junior college. The restraining order will remain in effect for 15 days as the quarterback waits for an injunction hearing on the case.
Tennessee Courts Chancellor Christopher D. Heagerty stated that Aguilar "has demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of his claim" in the ruling, which only applies to the quarterback. Aguilar redshirted at City College of San Francisco in 2019 before the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The quarterback then spent spending two seasons at Diablo Valley Community College in California from 2021 to 2022 and two seasons at Appalachian State from 2023 and 2024, prior to transferring to Tennessee last offseason. Aguilar led the SEC with 274.2 passing yards per game and ranked in the top 5 in passing yards (3,565), passing touchdowns (24) completion percentage (67.3%) and passer rating (156.11) during his lone season with the Vols, going 8-5 (4-4 SEC) as a starter.
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss is also suing the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility, having re-signed with Ole Miss last month.