Pavia's suit argued that counting junior college toward an athlete’s eligibility clock was an unlawful restraint on his NIL earning power.

The NCAA on Monday appealed the preliminary injunction granted by a U.S. federal judge giving Diego Pavia another year of eligibility even as the organization’s Division I board of directors granted a waiver allowing athletes in a similar situation as the Vanderbilt quarterback to play in 2025-26.

The stakes of being a junior college transfer may have changed after Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia was granted injunctive relief in his case against the NCAA. The case isn't over, but the initial ruling in favor of Pavia means his year at New Mexico Military institute (a junior college) does not count against his NCAA eligibility clock.