NCAA, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips release opposition against Chandler Morris eligibility lawsuit

The NCAA formally filed its opposition to Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris‘ motion for a preliminary injunction in his ongoing lawsuit for an extra season of eligibility, according to ESPN’s Max Olson. The NCAA response even includes an affidavit of support from ACC commissioner Jim Phillips against one of his conference’s own student-athletes.

This follows a similar move by SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, who filed an affidavit in support of the NCAA’s case against former Alabama men’s basketball player Charles Bediako in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court in early February. Bediako, who sought his own injunction to continue playing college basketball earlier this semester, ultimately dropped his eligibility case against the NCAA last week after he was denied his injunction request by both a Tuscaloosa judge and subsequent state appeals court.

The NCAA has submitted its response in opposition of Virginia QB Chandler Morris’s motion for a preliminary injunction. Included is an affidavit from ACC commissioner Jim Phillips asking the Charlottesville Circuit Court to uphold the NCAA’s eligibility rules. pic.twitter.com/V4pvL0wkgi

— Max Olson (@max_olson) March 24, 2026

Phillips’ affidavit formally backs the NCAA’s defense of its current eligibility rules that dictate student-athletes should not be granted more than four years of eligibility. The document elaborated on his stance.

“These longstanding rule are grounded in the principle that athletics are an integral part of the academic experience, ” Phillips’ affidavit read, per Olson. “They align the time permitted for intercollegiate athletics with the pursuit of an undergraduate education and preserve opportunities for future student-athletes to participate in college sports.”

Chandler Morris sues NCAA in Virginia for seventh season of collegiate eligibility

Morris filed suit against the NCAA in Charlottesville Circuit Court on Feb. 24 in an attempt to play in 2026 — his seventh college football season. The 25-year-old Morris took this legal step after the NCAA formally denied his medical redshirt request to recoup an additional season of eligibility in early January.

Morris joins a growing list of veteran QBs — including Ole Miss‘ Trinidad Chambliss and Tennessee‘s Joey Aguilar — that have taken the NCAA to court to challenge unfavorable eligibility rulings. Chambliss is expected to return for the 2026 season after a Mississippi judge granted him a preliminary injunction against the NCAA in early February, while Aguilar had his injunction request denied by a Knoxville judge the following week. Morris retained Quinn Emanuel law partners JP Kernisan and Ben O’Neil as his attorneys, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

Earlier this week, Morris differentiated his eligibility case against the NCAA by citing previous mental health struggles in 2022, his second season at TCU, during an interview with The Athletic. Morris described his mental health issues as “a battle each and every day” after a devastating knee injury in the 2022 season-opener forced him to miss multiple weeks and lose his starting spot to then-backup Max Duggan.

“That fire was kind of fizzling out inside of me,” Morris told The Athletic in a joint interview with his father, Chad Morris, now the offensive coordinator at Clemson. “I’ve always been extremely driven, and I just felt that was really fading away. That was hard for me. I couldn’t get it back.”

Morris’ attorneys argue that the 2022 season, in which he appeared in just four games and attempted just 27 total passes, should qualify for a medical redshirt, allowing him a seventh season of eligibility. In total, Morris has thrown for 9,207 yards and 63 touchdowns to 26 interceptions on 808-of-1,258 passing (64.2%) between stints at Oklahoma (2020), TCU (2021-23), North Texas (2024) and Virginia (2025). He has appeared in 47 career games with 36 starts across six college seasons between 2020-25.