Mississippi quarterback Trinidad Chambliss sued the NCAA in state court on Friday for an additional year of eligibility so he can play for the Rebels next season.
The suit filed in Lafayette County came a week after the NCAA denied Ole Miss' request for an extra year, saying the university and Chambliss' previous school — Ferris State — failed to provide adequate medical documentation to back up the request.
The lawsuit filed Friday called the NCAA's denial in ''bad-faith, unreasonable and arbitrary,'' and detailed Chambliss' history of illness and included letters from physicians.
''Despite the duty of good faith and fair dealing it owes to Trinidad, the NCAA insists on considering the evidence in Trinidad's case in an isolated, rather than comprehensive manner; interpreting its rules to impose requirements not contained therein; taking unreasonable if not irrational positions; and acting in an arbitrary and capricious manner in its decision-making and ruling," the suit says.
Ole Miss' arguments revolve around the fact that the 23-year-old Chambliss, although he has been in college for five years, has only played three years of college football because of that medical history.
''Trinidad first enrolled in Ferris State in the fall of 2021, but medical and physical incapacity prevented his ability to adequately train and condition and develop athletically,'' the suit says.
After taking a redshirt his first season at Ferris State in 2021-22, Chambliss was held out in his second season for medical reasons.
''Obviously, Trinidad's medical conditions, which rendered him incapable of competing in any game during these years, were beyond his or Ferris State's control,'' the suit says.
