The NCAA denied Mississippi’s request to extend the eligibility of Trinidad Chambliss on Friday.
The Rebels star quarterback just finished his fifth year of college football in a 31-27 loss to Miami in the College Football Playoff semifinals on Thursday night.
He had planned to return to Ole Miss for one more year if the waiver was approved.
The NCAA said Ole Miss and Ferris State failed to provide adequate medical documentation to back up the request.
Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter said his school will appeal the ruling.
“We are disappointed with today’s announcement by the NCAA and plan to appeal the decision to the Committee level,” Carter said in a social media post, in which he included the flag of Trinidad and Tobago. “Additionally, we will continue to work in conjunction with Trinidad’s representatives in other avenues of support.”
Tom Mars, who is an attorney for Chambliss, said he was disappointed but not surprised by the NCAA’s decision.
“The last time I checked, however, the only score that matters is the one at the end of the fourth quarter,” Mars said.
“I understand that Ole Miss will file an appeal with the NCAA. However, there’s now an opportunity to move this case to a level playing field where Trinidad’s rights will be determined by the Mississippi judiciary instead of some bureaucrats in Indianapolis who couldn’t care less about the law or doing the right thing,” Mars said. “Whether to pursue that course of action is a decision only Trinidad and his parents can make.”
After taking a redshirt his first season at Ferris State in 2021-22, Chambliss was held out in his second season for medical reasons. He played two more seasons at the Division II school, leading the Bulldogs to a national championship before transferring to Ole Miss before the start of this season. Ole Miss filed the waiver request with the NCAA in November.
Chambliss completed 294 of 445 passes (66.1%) for 3,937 yards with 22 touchdowns and three interceptions for Ole Miss (13-2), which set a school record for wins, including two after making the College Football Playoff for the first time. He ran for 527 yards and eight more TDs.
The NCAA said in its denial statement that approval of such waivers requires schools to submit medical documentation from a treating physician at the time of a student’s incapacitating injury or illness.
“The documents provided by Ole Miss and the student’s prior school include a physician’s note from a December 2022 visit, which stated the student-athlete was ‘doing very well’ since he was seen in August 2022,” the NCAA said. “Additionally, the student-athlete’s prior school indicated it had no documentation on medical treatment, injury reports or medical conditions involving the student-athlete during that time frame and cited ‘developmental needs and our team’s competitive circumstances’ as its reason the student-athlete did not play in the 2022-23 season.”
The NCAA noted that it initially provided a verbal denial on Dec. 8, which was 12 days before Ole Miss beat Tulane at home in the program’s first CFP game.
“To receive a clock extension, a student-athlete must have been denied two seasons of competition for reasons beyond the student’s or school’s control, and a ‘redshirt’ year can be used only once,” the statement reads. “One of the rules being cited publicly (Bylaw 12.6.4.2.2) is not the correct rule for the type of waiver requested by the school.”
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