Eligibility of several Arizona athletes in doubt after NCAA granted stay in Colorado case

UA basketball player RJ Godfrey remains legally able to play a fifth season in 2026-27 because he is protected by a Georgia ruling that allowed plaintiffs including Godfrey a fifth season, but UA football players Max Harris and running back Ismail Mahdi were believed to be only covered by the Colorado case.

However, Arizona Athletics said Friday morning that Mahdi and Harris “remain eligible” and “will continue to practice with our football team as we continue to monitor the judicial process.”

Garrett Hicks, a right-handed reliever for the UA baseball team, also could be at least temporarily ineligible for a fifth season if he is only relying on the Colorado class action lawsuit.

According to court documents cited by Yahoo, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit granted the NCAA's request to stay the Colorado ruling that granted the class of 2022 recruits a fifth year of eligibility. An expedited appeal hearing has been set.

The NCAA has been drawing legal activity all over the country after it excluded high school class of 2022 athletes from its new "five-for-five" rule, in which athletes are able to play an unlimited amount within a five-year window starting with their high school graduation or 19th birthday.

The Colorado class-action case covered all athletes who graduated high school in 2022 and played four seasons of college athletics, but successful lawsuits in some states have offered more protection for their plaintiffs.

The stay has "no effect on state cases," Darren Heitner, a Florida-based attorney who filed the Georgia lawsuit that Godfrey was a part of, told the Star on Friday.

Earlier this month, UA cleared Godfrey to rejoin the Wildcats for practices and to go on the Wildcats' exhibition trip to Lithuania but the transfer from Clemson has not played in their first two games. 

According to a court filing posted by Scarlet & Black's Austin Massey, the NCAA suspended Godfrey for four games because he signed with a pro agent and competed in the Reese's College All-Star game, which typically marks the end of a player's college eligibility.

Godfrey did not know at the time he played in the Reese's game that he would be able to play another season in college, and the court filing said he was not paid for playing in it and that he did not receive any benefits from his agent.

"But even if he had, the court order simply mandates that we return such money, while prohibiting the NCAA from declaring him ineligible," the plaintiff's filing read. "Despite that mandate, the NCAA has declared Godfrey ineligible for four games. And did so when his team is in the middle of an international trip to Lithuania."

The filing said the NCAA issued its order after Godfrey and the Wildcats arrived in Lithuania and said Godfrey "asks the court for an immediate ruling allowing him to play" after quoting NCAA counsel saying Wednesday he had "no authority to remove the NCAA's punishment."

"In short, despite court's order, the NCAA is doing everything it can to keep these athletes from playing basketball," the filing said.

The Wildcats lost to the Lithuanian "B" team on Wednesday and beat the Ukraine national team on Thursday while Godfrey did not play. The Wildcats are scheduled to face a mix of Lithuanian "A" and "B" players on Saturday at 9:30 a.m.

Former Arizona standout Azuolas Tubelis is questionable to play for Lithuania against his old team because of an ankle injury he suffered in an exhibition game Thursday against Estonia.