After having their eligibility suspended by a stay of the original injunction granting them eligibility, both Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt have had their eligibility reinstated by a circuit court in Indiana. The latest update makes them eligible for week one against North Texas.
Whether either will appear tomorrow against the Mean Green remains to be seen. The two have been ineligible for games since August 21st, but that ruling didn’t affect their practice eligibility.
If they start tomorrow, it
will probably be an indication of the staff’s confidence in their availability down the line, as the two bring championship experience and proven production that Curt Cignetti and his staff value on defense.
If they don’t start, it’ll be up to the staff to clarify whether it was an indication of their ideal lineup, or a practical measure based on their last-minute eligibility status.
The Indiana-based injunction will cover Indiana’s first four games, all of which are in Bloomington. After that, though, things could depend on jurisdictional-based rule. The court that granted this preliminary injunction has the same federal authority as the one that issued the stay preventing them from playing, meaning this could be an issue for the Supreme Court to settle.
Entering this year, I would have been confident saying that the athletes would win in further litigation, as has been the case in most eligibility issues prior to this, but the recent rulings make me less sure.
I could see the stay as an indication that the courts are looking to consolidate the power within the NCAA, which would not be good for Indiana. On the other hand, I struggle to see a reason outside of an arbitrary power grab that class of 2022 athletes wouldn’t be granted an extra year that their counterparts in 2023 and beyond have available.
