Judge Restores Eligibility for Two Indiana Defenders Before Northwestern Game

Judge Restores Eligibility for Two Indiana Defenders Before Northwestern Game

A Monroe County judge has cleared the way for Indiana defensive linemen Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt to play in Friday night's Big Ten opener against Northwestern. Judge Kara Krothe issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday granting Daley, Wyatt and more than 90 other athletes a fifth year of eligibility. The NCAA is expected to appeal.

Daley and Wyatt sat out last weekend's 38-0 win over Western Kentucky after a temporary restraining order that had permitted them to play expired. Both testified in court last week, but with no ruling in hand before kickoff, Indiana held them out. Krothe's decision came days later than expected. Both players started for Indiana's national championship team last season before suffering season-ending injuries ahead of the playoff run. Neither was drafted in April, and neither signed with an NFL team for offseason workouts or training camp. bet on water polo

In her 37-page opinion, Krothe wrote that the football, soccer, cross country and field hockey seasons are already underway, with basketball practices set to begin September 21, 2026, and spring sports approaching. She noted the plaintiffs have secured roster spots but cannot receive scholarship aid or NIL payments until their eligibility is confirmed by court order, adding that "college sports seasons are time-limited opportunities" that "cannot be restored" once lost. She also found harm to the NCAA "minimal or nonexistent," pointing out that the association routinely grants eligibility waivers to far larger groups of athletes.

The ruling adds to a turbulent stretch for college football's eligibility rules nationwide. The NCAA announced in June it would adopt a new model allowing athletes five seasons over five years, but excluded the freshman class of 2022-23, triggering legal challenges across multiple states. A Colorado federal judge later ruled some members of that class could receive a fifth year, a decision that prompted players in NFL camps to weigh returning to college football before she clarified that professional athletes were not covered. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit stayed that ruling in August, but litigation has continued in lower courts, including the Indiana case decided this week.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti has publicly backed both players' bids for an extra season, saying after last weekend's game that their potential return "sure will help," while crediting other players who stepped up to fill their roles a year ago. With the injunction in place, Daley and Wyatt are now expected to be available when Indiana opens Big Ten play against Northwestern on Friday night, pending any emergency action by the NCAA.