The legal fight over college eligibility has reached the Big 12 again. This time, it involves a former Kansas defensive end who planned to continue his career at UCF. Instead of preparing for the 2026 season, he is now fighting the NCAA in court. His lawsuit argues that the association wrongly denied him another year of eligibility. The case also puts a reported $300,000 agreement with UCF in danger.

“This denial is particularly egregious because it is flatly inconsistent with relief granted to similarly situated athletes, including Diego Pavia and all other athletes who would have exhausted eligibility during the 2024-25 academic year,” Dean Miller’s lawsuit states. “And it defies the NCAA’s own articulated guidelines for granting waivers when circumstances warrant relief.”

Miller spent his 2021 season at College of the Canyons, a JUCO in California. Thereafter, he redshirted in the 2022 season at Arkansas and finally came to Kansas in 2023. In that season, he played in all 13 games for the team and established himself as a regular starter. Therafter, in the 2024 season, he featured in 12 games and recorded a career high 6 sacks. Then came his 2025 season, where his performances continued.

He started 11 games, notching 29 tackles in total. Just like many previous precedents, like Diego Pavia, Miller was expecting to play in 2026 owing to his JUCO year. However, the NCAA denied his eligibility. That came after he transferred to UCF in 2026 to follow his former Kansas edges coach, Mike Dawson. The 48-year-old coached Miller for a year at Kansas in 2024 and moved to UCF last year.

UCF has also invested in him, handing him a $300K NIL deal. And losing that money, along with the opportunity to play one last year, will be a big blow. To his surprise, UCF has stood behind Miller throughout the whole ordeal. The school appealed the NCAA’s original denial instead of accepting the ruling. According to reports, UCF has also delayed Miller’s enrollment while waiting for the legal process to play out. That allows the school to avoid using a scholarship on a player who may never become eligible.

If Miller ultimately loses, UCF will have to move forward with the edge rushers already on its roster. The biggest names include rising players like Isaiah Nixon and Aymeric Koumba, expected to fill the void left after NFL departures. While they offer potential, none has yet matched Miller’s proven production against Big 12 competition. Losing him would remove an experienced starter from a defense that hoped to improve its pass rush under DC Alex Grinch.

Miller enters the courtroom with several legal precedents working in his favor. The lawsuit points directly to the successful case brought by former Vandy QB Diego Pavia. His injunction allowed his junior college seasons to stop counting against NCAA eligibility. The filing also references Clemson receiver Tristan Smith, who recently received a temporary injunction. A South Carolina court found no meaningful difference between his case and those of athletes who had already received relief.

Dean Miller’s attorney is confident in winning the legal battle

As for the NCAA, it argues that the waiver it granted after the Diego Pavia injunction applied to only JUCO transfers in December 2024. According to the Association, because Miller played in the 2025 season, he remains ineligible for a waiver. The UCF edge rusher has now requested in his lawsuit that the NCAA not penalize UCF for standing behind Miller and requests a “preventive and restraining order”.

“It is certainly helpful to stay on top of decisions in other courts brought by other counsel as well as to have personal experience,” Miller’s attorney, Darren Heitner, said to the Orlando Sentinel. “Including our recent win in South Carolina for Tristan Smith.”

Heitner is no stranger to eligibility cases, as he himself had handled and won an injunction for Clemson WR Tristan Smith. Heitner was also the attorney of Duke QB Darian Mensah when he announced his intention to transfer. The Florida native is well-versed in his job and is trying his best to win at least a temporary relief for Miller. He has filed the lawsuit in Orange County, Florida, after the NCAA rejected UCF’s appeal for Miller on May 28.