Five Indiana athletes were temporarily rendered ineligible to play following a hearing Monday in Monroe Circuit Court that ended with no ruling on a potential preliminary injunction.
The group, comprising Indiana players across three sports, was granted a temporary restraining order Sept. 4 which allowed them to play, but the order expired with the hearing. Without an injunction — or an extension of the order — the athletes will remain ineligible.
Per court records, the parties have until Thursday to submit their proposed findings. Judge Kara E. Krothe will then review the arguments and issue a ruling. There is no set timetable for when the ruling will come.
If Krothe rules for the NCAA or does not rule at all by Saturday, Indiana football defensive linemen Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt will be ineligible for the Hoosiers' Week 3 matchup with Western Kentucky University. Indiana volleyball's next match is against Coastal Carolina University on Friday, leaving opposite hitter Avry Tatum's status in flux. Swimmers Owen McDonald and Zalán Sárkány are also among the group, although Indiana swim and dive doesn't begin its season until October.
During the hearing, Krothe approved an amended filing which added 89 athletes across various states to the case. Indiana men's basketball forward Sam Alexis was among the new additions.
Alexis was initially made eligible via an injunction granted in Tennessee as part of the Washington v. NCAA case. However, that injunction was paused Aug. 26, leaving Alexis ineligible. After joining the case in Bloomington, Alexis could become eligible once again through the impending ruling.
Daley and Wyatt initially received eligibility as part of the sweeping Colorado ruling in Wisne v. NCAA. After that injunction was stayed, they filed in Bloomington on Sept. 4. Later that day, they received a temporary restraining order that made them eligible for the season-opener against the University of North Texas.
The court noted that additional time could be granted for the parties to submit their findings, but only if both sides agree to extend the TRO.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
