There’s a massive hubbub in the college football eligibility landscape, thanks to Diego Pavia and Joey Aguilar taking the NCAA to court. The former Vanderbilt quarterback is set to hear a former ruling in his case, and Aguilar’s lawsuit will be on trial from February 13. Based on how things are panning out, it seems like it’s a win for Aguilar at the moment.

Pavia fought the NCAA for another year of eligibility, arguing that the NCAA’s counting his JUCO years kept him from making use of financial opportunities from NIL deals. He was granted an injunction by the court, which allowed him to play the 2025 season. Aguilar is challenging the NCAA on the same grounds, but with a different legal approach. It seems like Aguilar plans to take advantage of a specific state law.

“There really aren’t any decisions, or very few decisions, analyzing the newest version of the Tennessee Trade Practices Act,” Tennessee attorney Marcos Garza said on The Tony Brasilio Show. “It really more or less says, gosh, if you are a student, you cannot be hindered in any shape, form, fashion, any way that you can think of by any agency, organization, entity, you name it.

“[Obviously], they’re kind of describing the NCAA and others, but primarily the NCAA, but I think of the way it’s written. And so, it’s so wide open, it is such a strong argument to argue under this statute that a real – in my opinion, a judge almost has to grant the permanent injunction.”

Let’s go back a few steps here. Aguilar tagged onto Pavia’s still pending lawsuit, which also has 25 other plaintiffs in it. But on January 30, the Tennessee QB filed for voluntary dismissal from this case. Hanging onto this case was risky to some extent because Diego Pavia got an injunction and is off to the NFL, leaving those yet to do so in a weird position. However, the presence of this statute allows Joey Aguilar to have his foot inside the door. Since this new legal avenue exists in Tennessee, Aguilar’s team thought they were better off exploiting it instead of remaining with the Pavia case.

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Moreover, the Vols QB already scored a small win when the court granted him a temporary restraining order in his lawsuit. Chancellor Christopher D. Heagerty said that Aguilar “has demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of his claim.” The ruling prevented the NCAA from restricting his eligibility during this period, during which he could be part of the Tennessee football.

If Aguilar wins, there’s a lot in store for him at Knoxville. Firstly, there’s the $2 million in NIL that has been mentioned in his complaint. During the season, if he performs on a far better level than the previous year, he might even end up on the Heisman voting list like Pavia did. The most important benefit the QB gets is a bolstered draft stock, because he will declare for the 2027 draft. The NCAA, on the other hand, will be dealt a massive blow.

NCAA seems to be backed up against the wall

If Joey Aguilar’s team adopts this approach and wins the injunction, it doesn’t bode well for the NCAA. It can challenge the injunction in the Court of Appeals within 30 days of the ruling. Moreover, it doesn’t seem the organization will catch a break here.

“Once you get to an appeals court, and again, the listener might appreciate this, they call appeals court loser’s court,” Garza said. “Now, that doesn’t mean you always lose. But appeals court is one of these things that the wheels of justice move very slowly.”

Now, the NCAA does have a win in its favor, after Charles Bediako was denied an injunction. The denial ended the Alabama basketball center’s 2026 season midway. However, it’s less likely that this takes precedent in the Pavia and Aguilar lawsuits, because the former Alabama center was technically a professional player. Aguilar is still very much a college football player and is eagerly waiting to get past this hurdle and participate in spring camp. He is the confirmed starter for Tennessee football and has the potential of taking the Vols to a great finish this year.

Joey Aguilar will not back down from this fight easily. This is the farthest he’s come in his career, after once planning to hang up his cleats during his JUCO years. Now that he has a hold of a golden opportunity, he will not loosen his hold on it unless the court forces it open.