Aguilar and football Vols continue waiting game after Friday hearing

A substantial amount of time lapsed before Joey Aguilar assumed the role of Tennessee’s quarterback. It will be a while before we know whether Aguilar will continue playing for the Volunteers. Chancellor Christopher D. Heagerty of Knox County Chancery Court announced following a two-hour-plus hearing that he postponed making an immediate ruling, conveying, “You should have my opinion very soon.”

Aguilar is seeking eligibility for an additional year at an NCAA Division I school. He contends that the two years he spent at junior college should not count towards his eligibility clock as junior colleges operate independently of the NCAA. Around two weeks ago, Aguilar distanced himself from a class-action lawsuit and nearly a week later, a temporary restraining order issued by Heagerty allowed Aguilar to partake in winter workouts at the university, a right that is to remain in effect until Heagerty renders his final decision.

Heagerty’s deliberations closely followed Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss’s successful bid for a sixth season at an NCAA member institution legitimized by a Mississippi state court judge after multiple denials by the NCAA. Chambliss’s successful appeal was built on a medical incident in 2022. Should Aguilar’s pursuits be approved, many other athletes could potentially seek additional eligibility on the premise that junior college years should not contribute towards their eligibility.

Subsequent to Aguilar’s approval of the temporary restraining order, the NCAA vocalized its standpoint, “This outcome — after the plaintiff withdrew from a federal lawsuit and separately filed a lawsuit in state court with the exact same facts — illustrates the impossible situation created by differing court decisions that serve to undermine the rules agreed to by the same NCAA members who later challenge them in court. We will continue to defend the NCAA’s eligibility rules against repeated attempts to rob high school students of the opportunity to compete in college and experience the life-changing opportunities only college sports can create.”

Aguilar, a 6-foot-3, 225-pounder from Antioch, California, contributed to the Vols’ 8-5 record in the past season. This included a significant victory at Florida, marking the first since 2003. Aguilar’s application asserts that he accumulated $1 million this past fall with potential earnings of $2 million this year thanks to various name, image, and likeness deals. Aguilar first engaged with college football in the fall semester of 2019 at City College of San Francisco without playing due to a redshirt season and the cancellation of the junior-college season nationwide.