Trinidad Chambliss sues NCAA in Mississippi court to get sixth year of eligibility

Trinidad Chambliss is going to court for his sixth college football season.

Lawyers representing the Mississippi quarterback sued the NCAA on Friday, in which they are requesting for preliminary and permanent injunctions which would give Chambliss another year in Ole Miss, ESPN reported.

Earlier this month, the NCAA officially denied Chambliss a waiver for an extra year of eligibility, stating that the 23-year-old and program officials at Mississippi failed to give enough medical evidence by a doctor which proved he was dealing with an “incapacitating injury or illness.”

Chambliss has claimed that frequent respiratory issues that he suffered while at Division II Ferris State is what kept him sidelined his sophomore season.

“In Trinidad’s case, the NCAA failed in its mission to foster his well-being and development as a student-athlete,” the lawsuit says. “The mechanisms (i.e., waiver rules) for granting Trinidad an additional year of eligibility — so that he has the opportunity to compete in four years of college football — are available and within the NCAA’s control.

“Despite the duty of good faith and fair dealing it owes Trinidad, the NCAA insists on considering the evidence in Trinidad’s case in an isolated, rather than comprehensive, manner; interpreting its rules to impose requirements not contained therein; taking unreasonable if not irrational positions; and acting in an arbitrary and capricious manner in its decision-making and ruling.”

Chambliss’ attorneys, Tom Mars and William Liston, claim that the NCAA is guilty of a bad faith breach of contract with Ole Miss.

Mars has also reportedly told ESPN that officials at Mississippi provided the NCAA with 91 pages of Chambliss’ medical records, with the QB’s doctor also writing in a separate letter that he dealt with “recurrent throat infections, poor sleep quality, daytime fatigue, and exercise-related airway discomfort,” during the 2022-23 academic year.

Officials at Ferris State have also advocated for Chambliss, with the school’s assistant athletic director for sports medicine writing that his “combination of acute and chronic illness impeded Trinidad’s ability to consistently engage in athletic activity including weight training, conditioning, and football practice.”

Despite his eligibility remaining in legal limbo, Chambliss has already signed to play for Ole Miss for the 2026 season, with his deal being reportedly worth up to $6 million including incentives, per ESPN.