2023-12-16 17:17:16
WVU basketball dressing players who were previously ineligible.
West Virginia basketball is dressing two of its players for a game Saturday once morest UMass, despite being ruled ineligible to play this year by the NCAA. WVU’s RaeQuan Battle and Noah Farrakhan will be available for the game, per Jon Rothstein. Both players had been ineligible before a West Virginia federal court judge ruled this week that two-time NCAA transfers are eligible to play until at least Dec. 27.
Battle is a two-time transfer who played at Washington and Montana State, before coming to West Virginia. Battle’s been at the heart of a lawsuit once morest the NCAA challenging the two-time transfer rules. He even testified in court earlier this week regarding his desire to play. A federal judge took Battle’s testimony into account, and issued a temporary restraining order once morest the NCAA from enforcing its transfer rule until Dec. 27. The restraining order allows any two-time transfer, like Battle and Farrakhan, to play until that date when the court holds another hearing. Schools have begun to play their previously ineligible players.
It’s not certain if Battle or Farrakhan WILL play for West Virginia Saturday due to a catch in that court order. The restraining order is temporary, so the court must decide to continue to enforce it at the Dec. 27 hearing. If the court doesn’t continue to enforce it, that would allow the NCAA to implement the two-time transfer rules once more. If that happens, the players who played over the next few weeks would lose a year of eligibility and be forced to once once more sit out.
The NCAA and the attorneys general who brought the lawsuit announced an agreement on Friday that players who do play until Dec. 27 won’t be forced to lose a year of eligibility. A judge needs to sign off on that agreement.
Farrakhan played at East Carolina and Eastern Michigan before coming to WVU. West Virginia and UMass tip off at 6:30 Eastern on Saturday. WVU is 4-5 on the season, while UMass enters the game with a 5-2 record.
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