The Court of Appeals of Indiana has kept the NCAA on the outside looking in, denying the association’s emergency request to put a Monroe County injunction on hold and leaving Kansas forward Tre White and KU football players Chase Belcher and Clifton Thompson eligible for now.
That injunction, which also covers 94 other plaintiffs, is the reason those athletes have a fifth year of eligibility at the moment. Chief Judge Elizabeth F. Tavitas wrote the order, and the rest of the panel agreed with her decision.
The NCAA still may try to take the fight to the Indiana Supreme Court, though that court does not have to take the case. The high court already turned away one earlier attempt by the NCAA’s side to skip the Court of Appeals altogether and move its challenge to the injunction directly to the Supreme Court.
That happened on Oct. 1.
For White, Belcher, Thompson and the others, Friday’s ruling removes one major hurdle to staying on the field or court. It also runs against a pattern seen in similar eligibility disputes around the country, where trial-court injunctions often get stayed once they hit the appeals process.
If the case does not go any farther, it could still head to trial. But that process could drag on long enough to make the final result meaningless, especially for football players like Belcher and Thompson, whose season will be finished by the end of the calendar year.
Under the injunction’s terms, Kansas and the players involved face no punishment for competing. Thompson, who transferred from Central Connecticut State, made his KU debut in last weekend’s loss to Utah.
Belcher has yet to play. White, along with fellow KU returnee Melvin Council Jr., is expected to join the basketball team soon; Council is eligible through his own injunction in New York, though the NCAA filed an appeal there Thursday.
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Lance Leipold Pressure Just Hit A New Level At Kansas
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The loss, 35-24, pushed Kansas to an 18-game skid and added another layer to the scrutiny around Lance Leipold. It also extended his losing streak against Kansas State to six straight since taking over in 2021, a number that has only intensified the questions around where the program is headed as the Jayhawks search for answers. [Read more 🡒]