A Knox County Chancery Court judge didn’t rule immediately after a hearing Friday to determine Joey Aguilar’s status with the University of Tennessee football team.
Chancellor Christopher D. Heagerty said he would have a ruling in the near future considering Aguilar’s appeal for one more year of eligibility with the Volunteers.
Aguilar’s attorney Cam Norris argued that Aguilar spent two seasons (2021-22) at Diablo Valley (Calif.) Community College before transferring to NCAA Division I program Appalachian State (2023-24).
After two years there, the quarterback spent last season at Tennessee. He had a successful season completing 67.3% of his passes for 3,565 yards with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Aguilar also redshirted at City College of San Francisco in 2019 and the 2020 season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Aguilar stands to earn roughly $2 million in Name, Image and Likeness money if he’s allowed to return to college. Even if he is cleared by the court, Aguilar wouldn’t be able to return to the field right away. He is still recovering from having a benign tumor removed from his shoulder after the season.
Heageerty focused on the specifics of the case, rather than dealing in generalities. He repeatedly asked what the market is for players on the NCAA Division I level. Neither Norris nor NCAA attorney Taylor Askew could come up with anything tangible.
“I can’t make a decision on conjecture,” Heagarty said.
Both lawyers agreed that the sample size in the NIL era is too small and will take longer to quantify.
Heagarty was concerned that a decision in a Tennessee court could have national implications when it comes to interstate commerce.
Norris tried to keep everything specific to the Aguilar case.
“This is not about taking spots from other players,” he said. “It’s not about how old you should be to play college football (Aguilar will be 25 next season).This is not about the future of college football.”
Askew argued the NCAA rules regarding the eligibility of junior college players — agreed to by all members — have been in place for many years.
Before Askew was finished, he turned to Aguilar and said, “You’re a hero to kids in Knoxville. That doesn’t mean you can break the rules.”
Norris and Askew are familiar with each other. In 20204, Askew argued for the NCAA against the Tennessee attorney general’s lawsuit on behalf of the university. It centered around the recruitment of quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
The state of Tennessee argued that NCAA rules regarding NIL benefits violated antitrust laws.
Tennessee won a preliminary injunction, and the NCAA abandoned its NIL investigation into Iamaleava’s recruitment.
Ironically, Askew played football at Tennessee Tech and earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee in 2014.