A former West Virginia football player currently competing at Maryland received a preliminary injunction last month in Monongalia County allowing for an additional year of eligibility in the 2026-27 season.
In response, the NCAA has filed a notice of appeal with the state Supreme Court of Appeals that challenges the ruling provided by Circuit Judge Michael Simms that went in favor of defensive back Jordan Scruggs last month.
The NCAA filed a motion for expedited review that asks the state Supreme Court to handle the appeal on a compressed timetable due to the dispute pertaining to the current season.
Scruggs played the 2025 season for the Mountaineers — his fifth different school in as many years.
Scruggs’ arrival in Morgantown followed a redshirt year in 2021 at Washburn, along with one-year stops at Central Missouri, Hutchinson Community College and South Alabama from 2022-24. Scruggs played extensively at each program with the exception of Washburn.
The NCAA determined Scruggs exhausted all of his eligibility under Division I Bylaw 12.6, which is in place to limit athletes to four seasons of competition across a five-year period. Scruggs’ season at Hutchinson is being counted against his eligibility.
Simms ruled Scruggs had shown a likelihood of success on a claim the NCAA treated him arbitrarily by denying him an additional season after numerous collegiate athletes affected by non-NCAA competition received a blanket waiver.
However, in its notice, the NCAA lists several assignments of error, stating its bylaws do not guarantee waivers for eligibility, that Simms improperly permitted a standalone claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and that Simms did not follow the state Supreme Court’s decision from 2001 in Hart v. NCAA. That ruling said participation in college sports was not a protected interest under state law and did not issue a preliminary injunction for an additional season of eligibility.
While ruling in favor of Scruggs, Simms noted his treatment from the NCAA was arbitrary and the he faced irreparable harm without relief due to losing a season’s worth of possible name, image and likeness competition, revenue-sharing opportunities, athletic development, game film, public exposure and professional scout evaluation.
Scruggs was awarded the preliminary injunction on August 17, and committed to the Terrapins shortly after.
He has played in Maryland’s first two games this season, including recording four tackles Saturday in a win at Connecticut.
Scruggs returned an interception for a touchdown in West Virginia’s win at Houston last year.