Curt Cignetti supports Indiana football safety challenging NCAA eligibility ruling

Indianapolis Star

5 hours ago

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti told reporters Monday that he supports safety Louis Moore's decision to file a lawsuit against the NCAA last week after his waiver request for an additional year of eligibility was denied.
The safety continues to practice with the team and compete for a starting role in the secondary, but his status for the start of the 2025 season is in doubt.
He's awaiting an initial hearing this week on the temporary restraining order (TRO) he filed against the NCAA in Dallas County District Court that would allow him to stay with the team once the academic term begins Aug. 25.
Moore originally signed with the Hoosiers in 2022 after attending Navarro (Texas) College from 2019 to 2021 (the 2020 season was canceled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic). He returned to Bloomington after spending last season at Ole Miss.
He entered the transfer portal after the NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved a blanket waiver that granted athletes an extra year of eligibility in 2025-26 who "competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years." The guidance came after Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia was granted an injunction in federal court after challenging the organization's eligibility rule for junior college players.
'I think the issue with Louis and a lot of other guys across the country right now is the Vanderbilt quarterback (Diego Pavia) was still within his five-year clock, whereas there's a group of guys at five and a half years," Cignetti said. "I do support Louis, but it's a legal matter, and that's all I can say about it.'
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The NCAA still denied Moore's waiver request for an additional year of eligibility in June, and the organization has yet to rule on an appeal the university filed last month. Moore's attorney Brian P. Lauten expects the court to schedule a hearing over the TRO application Monday or Tuesday.
'The way the NCAA is discriminately applying that eligibility by-law to junior college play is wrong," Lauten said. "This isn't novel; a half dozen federal courts have already found this exact same situation violates antitrust laws.'
According to the lawsuit filing, Moore would lose out on a 'one-in-a-lifetime' name, image, and likeness contract worth $400,000, and miss an opportunity to 'enhance his career and reputation by playing another year of Division I football at an NCAA major conference university that likely extend beyond the direct financial returns.'