A request for a preliminary injunction from Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler’s representation seeking a fifth season of college basketball eligibility was denied Thursday in Knoxville, Tennessee, by U.S. District Judge Katherine A. Crytzer. The denial came nearly a week after hearing arguments in the case as Zeigler’s attorneys petitioned the court on the grounds of being unfairly financially restricted by the NCAA’s so-called “four-seasons” rule, which states athletes must compete in four seasons within a five-year window.
Zeigler completed four seasons in four years and is part of the first class post-pandemic that was not granted an additional year of eligibility.
What the court said
His representation filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in May in the case requesting the preliminary injunction citing federal and state antitrust laws were violated. However, Crytzer wrote in her assessment that the argument in which the NCAA unduly restricted him under a violation of the Sherman Act did not hold up.
“This Court is a court of law, not policy,” Crytzer wrote via the Associated Press. “What the NCAA should do as a policy matter to benefit student athletes is beyond the reach of the Sherman Act and TTPA and by extension, this Court.”
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Reaction from Zeigler’s legal team
A granting of a preliminary injunction may have been a ground-breaking development in the ever-changing college athletics eligibility landscape. Zeigler is the first non-junior college player to file suit against the NCAA, though Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia — a former junior college product — sued and won in a similar case seeking an additional year of eligibility after arguing the NCAA’s rule counting junior college participation toward overall eligibility violated antitrust laws.
“We are disappointed the Court declined to grant a preliminary injunction on the basis that the NCAA does not directly control NIL compensation, just days after the House settlement confirmed they would do exactly that,” Litson PLLC and the Garza Law Firm, both of which represent Zeigler, said Thursday in a statement. “This ruling is just the first chapter of what we believe will ultimately be a successful challenge. We intend to press forward and are evaluating the best path ahead for Zakai.”
Zeigler, a two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year winner and three-time All-SEC performer, played 138 games across four seasons with the Vols. He is unlikely to be selected in this month’s NBA Draft but would have stood to earn millions of dollars the next season, his counsel argued, if he had been given an additional year of eligibility.
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