UA says LB Max Harris, RB Ismail Mahdi are ‘cleared for competition,’ traveling to BYU

Arizona Athletics announced Friday that Harris and Mahdi — who have sought a fifth and final year of eligibility under the NCAA’s new five-for-five rule — have been “cleared for competition.” The same goes for walk-on kicker Sullivan Moon.

The announcement in full reads as follows:

“The Arizona football program announced Friday that linebacker Max Harris, running back Ismail Mahdi and kicker Sullivan Moon have been cleared for competition. Harris and Mahdi will travel with the team to Saturday’s game against BYU.”

Arizona is set to open Big 12 play against BYU in Provo, Utah, at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Less than a week after filing a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the NCAA in the Pima County Superior Court via Ryan Downton and the Texas Trial Group and the Tucson-based Farhang and Medcoff, LLC, the order was granted. Ali Farhang hosts a radio show with the Star's Justin Spears on ESPN Tucson.

Mahdi and Harris, among other plaintiffs listed in court documents obtained by the Star, had to post a bond or other security in the amount of $1,000 no later than Sept. 14. The bond was posted Thursday morning.

A one-hour Order to Show Cause hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 21 at the Pima County Superior Court. The NCAA “shall appear and show cause why a preliminary injunction should not issue granting the temporary relief requested by plaintiffs pending final resolution of this action,” court documents state.

The UA was aware of the ruling and said in a statement that it would “continue to work with our student-athletes to help address their eligibility for competition.”

Harris and Mahdi now have the green light to play, according to the UA.

Both played one season at Arizona in 2025 as fourth-year seniors after transferring from Texas State. Harris had 78 tackles, the third most on the team. Mahdi led the team with 859 rushing yards, averaging 6.4 yards per attempt.

Both players rejoined the team during training camp. They did not play in Arizona’s opener last week vs. NAU.

Last month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit granted a stay request in the Wisne v. NCAA class-action lawsuit in Colorado, pausing the preliminary injunction that allowed high school athletes from the 2022 recruiting class — like Mahdi and Harris — to participate as five-for-five players.

The stay temporarily paused Harris and Mahdi’s eligibility to play in games this upcoming season, along with other athletes nationwide.

U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte Sweeney’s federal ruling in Colorado last month allowed class of 2022 student-athletes, who weren’t grandfathered into the NCAA’s new five-for-five rule, to compete in the upcoming 2026-27 sports season.

The five-for-five rule allows student-athletes to use up their eligibility in five years — with their eligibility clock starting upon their freshman year in college or after their 19th birthday. Many 2022 athletes competed for four years but weren’t granted an additional year of eligibility until the federal ruling in Colorado.

The TRO filed last week said language regarding the 2022 class being excluded from the five-for-five rule doesn’t exist in the 2026-27 NCAA Division I manual, meaning the NCAA can't prohibit the plaintiffs from competing this season.

NCAA Rule 12.6, which was printed in the new NCAA Division I manual last month, states: “The regular academic term (semester or quarter) of an academic year in which the individual enrolls in a collegiate institution (domestic or foreign; see Bylaw 14.02.4) in a minimum full-time program of studies and attends a class in that term while enrolled full time; or the beginning of the regular academic year immediately after the individual’s 19th birthday.”