Earlier Friday, the West Virginia men’s basketball program announced that RaeQuan Battle and Noah Farrakhan will suit up and be available for their Mountaineer debut on Saturday in the team’s 10th game of the season against Massachusetts.
There will be plenty of opportunities for Battle and Farrakhan at WVU as both are now certain to be eligible to play the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
The case of Ohio v. NCAA took a major turn on Friday when attorneys general from seven states, including West Virginia’s Patrick Morrisey, filed a joint motion with the NCAA to convert a temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction that would last beyond the 14-day period at the conclusion of the sports season. Al-Rubaie.
It was approved by the NCAA and as long as District Judge John Preston Bailey signs the final order as expected, it blocks the NCAA From implementing its transfer rule until the culmination of the 2023-2024 athletics season at the earliest.
“This is a huge win in the fight for student-athletes like West Virginia University’s Raekwan Patel to play in the sport they love,” Morrissey said. “It’s all about the student-athletes who were sidelined by the NCAA’s burdensome transfer rule, freeing them to pursue their passions and excel in their collegiate experience.
“Let the children play.”
The 14-day TRO, granted by Judge Bailey on Wednesday in a Wheeling courtroom, allowed immediate eligibility for college transfers on two occasions for at least two weeks. The next hearing was scheduled for December 27, when a more permanent decision was expected.
Instead, it came about 52 hours later when the TRO was converted into a preliminary injunction.
“Given the unprecedented decision made by the courts earlier this week, the NCAA has reached an agreement with the United States to convert the temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction for the remainder of the 2023-24 NCAA Championship season, as this is the best outcome for the United States,” the National Association said. “Student-athletes who have transferred multiple times wish to compete immediately,” the College Athletic Association said in a statement. “This action provides clarity to student-athletes and member schools for the remainder of the academic year – any student-athlete who transfers multiple times and competes this season will be subject to the same eligibility and use of a season of competition rules.” Like all the other “student-athletes.”
Wednesday’s ruling left uncertainty as to whether two-time transfers like Patel and Farrakhan will be eligible after their next hearing date. If the TRO was lifted and they were no longer eligible, there was confusion as to whether playing any or all of West Virginia’s three games during that ongoing 14-day window would remove a year of eligibility from both.
The NCAA sent its members updated guidance Thursday and informed schools that athletes could lose a year of eligibility by playing during the two-week period covered by the TRO, even if the order is overturned at the next hearing. That sparked backlash, especially after Kellan Boone took on UNLV in Wednesday’s win over Creighton, while LSU did not play guard Jalen Cook in the win over Alabama State.
Like West Virginia, other schools were reportedly seeking more clarity on the issue.
Battle had a separate case against the NCAA that was essentially consolidated Wednesday into the bipartisan case led by Ohio State.
In this case, Patel was represented by Morgantown-based attorneys James “Rocky” Gianola and John Gianola.
“We’re still waiting for the final order,” Rocky Gianola said. “There is a joint motion now pending before the court that the NCAA and the attorneys general have agreed to make the temporary restraining order a permanent injunction through the end of the competitive season for the 2023-2024 spring season. Essentially, kids who will sit out due to the second transfer will be eligible to play. The waivers out there are, by and large, moot and won’t need to be heard in. Hopefully at their next meeting the NCAA will address this.
Battle, a 6-foot-5 fifth-year guard who previously played two seasons at Washington and then two seasons at Montana State, was the only Native American to make the NCAA Tournament last season. Battle, who grew up on the Tulalip Indian Reservation, testified Wednesday for 40 minutes and talked about the struggles he faced throughout his college past along with the close relationship he developed with former Montana State coach Danny Sprinkle, who now holds that title at Utah State.
After Sprinkle’s departure, Battle elected to transfer to West Virginia, but was denied an immediate eligibility waiver and then a follow-up appeal was denied. This will be the last season of Battle eligibility.
“There was a lot of positioning and legal maneuvering to get to this point,” Rocky Gianola said. “It’s really the best solution at this point. This is a huge victory if the judge actually enters the order.”
West Virginia did not offer Farrakhan a waiver to play this season. The 6-1 guard played one season at East Carolina, then two seasons at Eastern Michigan, and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
The issue of transferring and gaining eligibility in the world of collegiate sports has become a hot topic as of late, especially with the recent decision of a TRO becoming a preliminary injunction. With the ability to transfer twice in order to gain eligibility until the end of the spring sports season, student-athletes and universities are navigating uncharted territory. This decision has sparked a significant amount of debate and controversy within the sports community, and it has raised important questions about fairness, regulations, and the overall landscape of college athletics.