BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football safety Louis Moore’s attorneys reached an agreement with the NCAA to push back a hearing scheduled for Wednesday in his lawsuit against the organization to 11 a.m. Sept. 24 that will keep him eligible through Week 4.
The Hoosiers play a game against Indiana State on Friday and play No. 9 Illinois on Sept. 20.
Moore’s agreement with the NCAA means the organization won’t take any action against his “eligibility or ability to compete” before the next hearing and Indiana won’t face any penalties for playing him through that date, per court documents.
Judge Dale Tillery granted Moore a temporary restraining order in the case in August that he extended for 14 days as his attorney’s sought documents from the NCAA over a motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that the Dallas County Court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case.
Tillery has since limited the scope of that ruling — he initially asked the NCAA to produce all contracts it had with any Texas resident, but now they just have to answer a series of questions provided by the court how many student-athletes are in the state — but the organization still has to make a corporate representative available for a deposition ahead of the next hearing.
The NCAA challenged the Dallas County court’s jurisdiction since the conduct in the lawsuit doesn’t arise in the state of Texas.
Moore challenged the NCAA’s JUCO eligibility rules after it denied his initial waiver request for an additional year of eligibility in June — his appeal of that ruling has since been denied — even though the organization issued a blanket waiver in December that granted athletes an extra year of eligibility in 2025-26 who “competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years.”
He entered the transfer portal after spending the 2024 season at Mississippi believing he would be eligible to play an additional season under those guidelines having started out his career at Navarro College from 2019-21.
According to Moore’s lawsuit, he would lose out on a “one-in-a-lifetime” name, image, and likeness contract worth $400,000 if he wasn’t allowed to play in 2025, 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 extends beyond the direct financial returns.”
Moore leads the team with 14 tackles (nine solo) and two interceptions, he’s one of 10 FBS players with multiple picks.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Safety will be available for Indiana football’s primetime showdown, though future uncertain beyond that
Reporting by Michael Niziolek, The Herald-Times / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
