KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Arizona men’s basketball coach Tommy Lloyd believes the NCAA is content to let the fight over player eligibility stay messy, arguing the disorder helps the governing body lobby for a federal law.
Speaking at Big 12 media days this week, Lloyd said college sports have become so political that the NCAA does not mind the turmoil, because it strengthens the argument for the Protect College Sports Act now before Congress.
At the center of the dispute are players who finished high school in 2022. The NCAA’s new rule gives athletes five seasons of play within five years, but that class was left out, sending many players to court for one more season. By Lloyd’s count, 22 such players in the Big 12 alone would qualify under the newer approach.
Lloyd pointed to the case of former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia. After a court sided with Pavia two years ago, the NCAA granted a blanket waiver, signed off by its Division I Board of Directors, to athletes in similar situations. Lloyd said the association should do the same now instead of fighting case after case, and he warned that an uneven playing field is coming this season.
Arizona has its own stake. Forward RJ Godfrey, a former Clemson and Georgia player, won an injunction from a Georgia judge, but the Georgia Court of Appeals then granted the NCAA a stay, leaving his status unresolved. Meanwhile, Kansas announced Monday that former Purdue star Trey Kaufman-Renn will play for the Jayhawks after an Indiana court granted him a sixth year.
The fifth-ranked Wildcats, coming off their first Final Four trip in 24 years, begin the season Nov. 2 in Las Vegas against 22nd-ranked UCLA.
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