Indiana safety Louis Moore may continue to play for the remainder of the 2025 season after Texas judge Dale Tillery, who presides over the 134th Civil District Court in Dallas County, signed off on an injunction Wednesday prohibiting the NCAA from counting the Hoosier’s playing days at Navarro Junior College toward his eligibility.
ESPN’s Heather Dinich, Jared Kelly of Peegs.com and Michael Niziolek of The Herald-Times were among those who reported on the development.
Per Dinich, Moore filed a lawsuit in August that challenged the NCAA’s five-year eligibility rule, which in essence gives athletes a five-year window to complete four athletic seasons. Moore played two seasons at Navarro Junior College (2020 and 2021) before transferring to Indiana in 2022. He played for the Hoosiers in 2022 and 2023 before transferring to Ole Miss for the 2024 season.
On paper, that final season exhausted his eligibility over a five-year span. However, there was an opening for Moore to have one more year. ESPN’s Eli Lederman provided more information on December 23, citing a case involving current Vanderbilt quarterback (and ex-JUCO star) Diego Pavia.
“The NCAA Division I Board of Directors on Monday approved a blanket waiver granting an additional year of eligibility to former junior college transfers in similar positions to Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, opening the door for a wave of college athletes across all sports to spend one more year in college athletics.
“According to an NCAA memo, the waiver extends an extra year of eligibility in 2025-26 to athletes who previously ‘competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years’ and otherwise would have exhausted their NCAA eligibility following the 2024-25 season.”
Five days later, Moore transferred back to Indiana. However, his eligibility waiver to play in 2025 was denied last summer.
Of utmost importance, though, was Moore’s action on August 9 to set the stage for him playing this year. Ben Gillard of Hoosier Huddle provided a thorough and detailed breakdown of the Moore case that explains it from all corners.
“On August 9th, Indiana Hoosiers safety Louis Moore added his name to the ever-growing list of FBS players who are suing the NCAA for another year of eligibility under the newly created “Diego Pavia Rule,” which grants a blanket waiver of eligibility to JUCO transfers. Moore, who spent 2020 and 2021 at Navarro Community College, had his eligibility waiver for a sixth year denied earlier this summer. As a result, he has sued the NCAA in the 134th District Court of Texas, seeking an injunction granting him an extra year of eligibility.”
On Aug. 13, Judge Tillery granted Moore a Temporary Restraining Order against the NCAA, with a full hearing scheduled for Aug. 27. On that date, Judge Tillery granted a 14-day extension of the TRO until Sept. 10, allowing Moore to play in the Hoosiers’ first two games of the season (both wins).
That court date was then pushed to Sept. 24, allowing Moore to play in an additional two games.
At long last, a conclusion was reached in favor of Moore. Gillard provided more information.
“After an almost five-hour long hearing which ended without a decision, Judge Dale Tillery signed an order on Wednesday night granting Louis Moore an injunction which will allow him to remain eligible for the remainder of the 2025 season. Specifically, the injunction states that the NCAA is ‘enjoined from enforcing the Five-Year Rule as it applies to Moore’s time at a junior college’ until after the conclusion of the trial, scheduled for January 29, 2026 (10 days after the conclusion of the FBS season).”
Naturally, this is fantastic news for Moore (who gets to play this one final year in its entirety) and the No. 11 Hoosiers, who have started 4-0 and just crushed previously ninth-ranked Illinois, 63-10. Moore has been at the forefront of Indiana’s great season, leading the team in tackles (23), solo tackles (15) and interceptions (two).
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