Melvin Council Jr. Dismisses Eligibility Lawsuit; Return to Kansas Now Unlikely

After voluntarily dismissing his eligibility lawsuit, Melvin Council Jr.'s chances of returning to Kansas for an additional season appear to be off the table.

Mar 3, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Melvin Council Jr. (14) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

For months, Kansas basketball fans held out hope that the NCAA would grant Melvin Council Jr. an additional year of eligibility to return to the Jayhawks. Unfortunately, that dream has run its course.

This morning, the Douglas County District Court revealed that the plaintiff, Council, had voluntarily dismissed his case. This means he is no longer pursuing his dispute for an additional year of eligibility.

Melvin Council Jr. has voluntarily chosen to dismiss his case against the NCAA and more for another year of eligibility this upcoming college basketball season.#kubball pic.twitter.com/nr44OXEi2w

— Jordan Guskey (@JordanGuskey) August 31, 2026

The fan-favorite guard filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in July, arguing that his two years in junior college should not have counted toward his eligibility clock. The premise of his argument is that Division I schools did not give him a look out of high school due to criminal charges that were later dismissed.

The NCAA has been fighting back against Council's lawsuit, filing a 20-page response asking the court not to grant him eligibility earlier this month. Since he signed a contract to play in the NBA Summer League and hired an agent, the NCAA believes he has already deemed himself ineligible.

There was a court hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. on Sept. 4 for a "motion for a temporary injunction." If granted, the injunction would have temporarily restored his eligibility while the lawsuit continued to play out. However, it appears that he received guidance from his lawyers not to pursue any further action, since he likely would have been unsuccessful.

Council spent one year in Lawrence after transferring over from St. Bonaventure. He started in all 35 of KU's games and averaged 12.7 points, 5.1 assists and 5.8 rebounds as the team's starting point guard.

Although this is an upsetting development for one of the most beloved Jayhawks in recent history, winning this case was a long shot to begin with. Now, Bill Self will have to pivot to other options in the transfer portal if he wants to make one more addition to the 2026-27 roster.

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