Four West Virginia football players whose status is in question for the 2025 season have filed suit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the Northern District Court of West Virginia.
Plaintiffs Tye Edwards, Justin Harrington, Jimmori Robinson and Jeffrey Weimer are seeking an injunction to be eligible for the upcoming season. Each of the four transferred to West Virginia during the offseason.
The lawsuit, filed August 1, claims antitrust violations under both national and West Virginia law and a breach of contract that argues the players are third-party beneficiaries of NCAA membership agreements. It seeks to forbid the NCAA “from enforcing its arbitrary and capricious decisions, breaching its contract with its member institutions, and preventing them from participating in college sports.”
It also states each of the four players “believed they would have another year of NCAA eligibility, chose to stay in school and attempted to play football at West Virginia University. In doing so, the Plaintiffs withdrew and/or forewent the National Football League draft.”
We have eligibility rule lawsuit #30. This one involves multiple athlete-plaintiffs, all seeking to play football this fall for West Virginia after transferring there this spring.
The plaintiffs are Jimmori Robinson, Jeffrey Weimer, Tye Edwards, and Justin Harrington. pic.twitter.com/8P3KvgGpmm
— Sam C. Ehrlich (@samcehrlich) August 4, 2025
Each of the aforementioned quartet previously had a waiver denied that sought eligibility for 2025 and are now after an injunction that would grant them the ability to play in the near future.
Edwards, Harrington, Robinson and Weimer all previously played multiple seasons at the junior college level beginning in 2018 or 2019.
Robinson, a defensive lineman, is considered the most notable among the four, having garnered American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors last season while starring at UTSA. He finished the 2024 season with 43 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss and a pair of forced fumbles.
Edwards, a running back, spent one season at UTSA and the most recent two at Northern Iowa. He rushed for a total of 1,583 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2023 and 2024.
Harrington, a safety, spent a total of four seasons at Oklahoma and one at Washington. Weimer, a wideout, played at both UNLV and Idaho State.
The four are permitted in WVU’s football facilities, but cannot participate in team activities until ruled eligible.
“They can come by the building. We don’t have to throw them out, but they’re truly on their own,” WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez said. “We’re a week into camp, but the sooner we know something, the better. We don’t control that deal.”
In December 2023, former WVU men’s basketball player RaeQuan Battle was part of the Ohio v. NCAA case in the Northern District Court of West Virginia where Attorney Generals from West Virginia and six other states filed for a temporary restraining order to allow undergraduate college athletes that were multiple-time transfers immediate eligibility.
U.S. District Jude John Preston Bailey originally issued a 14-day TRO before ordering it be extended through the completion of the 2024 spring sports season.