NCAA appealing ruling granting Ole Miss QB Chambliss a 6th year - ESPN

The NCAA is appealing the preliminary injunction that a state court in Mississippi granted to Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss that paved his way to be eligible for a sixth college season in 2026.

In a filing in the Mississippi Supreme Court on Thursday, the NCAA is appealing the injunction, claiming that the organization «has final decision-making authority in the interpretation and application of its eligibility rules.»

In the 658-page filing on Thursday, the NCAA argues that it should receive an interlocutory appeal — an appeal of a non-final order — because the injunction subjects the NCAA to «substantial and irreparable injury.»

Per the filing, the NCAA argues that the Chambliss ruling cuts to the heart of fair play: «The NCAA is charged with supporting its member institutions and enforcing the rules that they adopt. Its even-handed enforcement of the eligibility rules is necessary to ensure a level playing field among all competitors and to provide opportunities for incoming student-athletes.

»If courts can intervene in NCAA eligibility decisions to provide special treatment to favored athletes, then the NCAA's ability to ensure fair athletic competition in which all participants play by the same rules will depend upon the whims of trial courts throughout the country."

The appeal by the NCAA, which was expected and is not unprecedented, will loom large over both Ole Miss football for 2026 and the college football season at large. Chambliss will be one of the most prominent players in the sport, and his February injunction, granted by a local judge, was viewed as a pivotal moment shaping the SEC race in 2026.

Chambliss won the SEC Newcomer of the year in 2025 after transferring from Division II Ferris State,