Oklahoma linebacker Owen Heinecke won his eligibility fight Thursday when a judge granted an injunction allowing him to keep playing while his case against the NCAA moves forward. Heinecke had been scheduled to appear in court Thursday morning to argue for another year of eligibility at the University of Oklahoma.
The ruling gives Heinecke the immediate relief he sought as he tries to stay on the field for the upcoming season. He sued the NCAA to play football at Oklahoma, saying his path was disrupted by the 2020 pandemic and other factors, and he told reporters, “I’m someone who cares about the university,” adding, “I’m just starting to reap the rewards, and it’s just another year to go at it.” He also said, “I hope they’ll see my case for that.”
The fight now turns to whether Heinecke will ultimately be granted the extra season he wants. The NCAA argued he already used a year when he played lacrosse for four games before starting his college football career, and said athletes are allowed five years to complete four seasons under its rules. Heinecke’s case centers on whether that clock should be adjusted for the years he says were lost to circumstances beyond his control.
OU coach Brent Venables and general manager Jim Nagy were set to testify earlier in support of Heinecke, and compliance director Anderson Brady Newville pointed to a similar NCAA case involving Lyde at Providence College as precedent for an extra year. Venables has said college football is developmental and that without more time Heinecke could be at risk of getting cut from an NFL roster.
The dispute also has taken on a wider meaning inside Oklahoma football. Bishop Kelley High School coach JJ Tappana said, “All these kids in college got relief, but all these kids in high school did not,” arguing that the COVID waiver for a fifth year of eligibility kept roster spots frozen and left no pipeline for high school athletes. For Heinecke, Thursday’s injunction buys time. For the NCAA, the question is whether one player’s lost years qualify for one more season.