Judge grants Trinidad Chambliss preliminary injunction against NCAA, Ole Miss QB eligible to play 2026 season

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has been granted a preliminary injunction against the NCAA, making him currently eligible for the Rebels’ 2026 season until the lawsuit is fully litigated. Judge Robert Whitwell ruled from the Calhoun County Courthouse in Pittsboro, Mississippi, on Thursday.

The quarterback finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting in 2025, leading the Rebels to the College Football Playoff semifinals and totaling 30 touchdowns. Ole Miss had taken preparations if Chambliss was not to play the 2026 season, bringing in Auburn transfer quarterback Deuce Knight.

Whitwell said in his lengthy decision that the NCAA “breached its duty of good faith and acted in bad faith” in denying Chambliss a medical redshirt season for the 2022 season when he was at Ferris State. With a preliminary injunction granted, it bars the NCAA from stopping Chambliss from participating in 2026 until the case is fully litigated, which could drag out and allow him to play this season.

The NCAA can appeal Whitwell’s decision.

“This decision in a state court illustrates the impossible situation created by differing court decisions that serve to undermine rules agreed to by the same NCAA members who later challenge them in court,” the NCAA said in a statement on Thursday night. “We will continue to defend the NCAA’s eligibility rules against repeated attempts to rob future generations of the opportunity to compete in college and experience the life-changing opportunities only college sports can create.

“The NCAA and its member schools are making changes to deliver more benefits to student-athletes, but the patchwork of state laws and inconsistent, conflicting court decisions make partnering with Congress essential to provide stability for current and future college athletes.”

Chambliss previously went through multiple steps inside the NCAA system to be granted another year of eligibility. When his waiver was denied, he appealed, but the NCAA denied him again. Ole Miss’ request for reconsideration was also denied Thursday by the NCAA. The quarterback has already agreed to a contract to return to Ole Miss in 2026 worth over $5 million.

Chambliss’ situation centers around respiratory issues he dealt with as a sophomore in 2022 at Ferris State. He used his redshirt season in 2021 as a freshman and then missed the 2022 season while fighting respiratory issues that doctors later resolved through surgery to remove his tonsils. In court on Thursday, Chambliss said Thursday on the stand that his Ferris State coach, Tony Annese, told him he would be medically redshirting ahead of the 2022 season.

After the quarterback’s intial waiver filing, the NCAA requested medical notes proving he was dealing with the issues during the season. The NCAA denied Chambliss’ waiver for a sixth year because Ole Miss and the quarterback didn’t provide sufficient medical evidence from a treating physician that showed he was suffering from an “incapacitating injury or illness.”

In court on Thursday, Trinidad Chambliss’ attorneys argued that Chambliss’s case was “neither manufactured nor contrived.” They stressed that there will be no grand harm to the college sports industry if Chambliss gets a sixth year.

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