MSU WR Bullard Files Injunction vs. NCAA Weeks Before Season
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- A potential significant contributor in Michigan State's offense this year is taking the NCAA to court.
According to court records, MSU wide receiver Rodney Bullard Jr. filed an injunction against the NCAA on Monday as he seeks another season of eligibility. Bullard applied for a waiver this past winter, but he's still yet to receive an answer. The Spartans' season officially begins against Toledo in just 17 days. A hearing will be held at the 30th Circuit Court in Lansing on August 27, eight days before the season opener. Connor Earegood of The Detroit News reported the news first.
Explaining Bullard's Eligibility Situation
Bullard's college career has hardly been ordinary. The main crux of the issue here is whether his first year at Valdosta State, where he was a regular, part-time student, will count towards Bullard's eligibility clock or not. He only got a spot on the team at Valdosta State when coaches noticed him doing some 1-on-1's on a practice field.
The main argument for Bullard is that he has only actually played three seasons of college football. He redshirted during his first season with the Valdosta State program. Bullard then emerged over the next two seasons, totaling 566 yards and seven touchdowns during his first actual year playing, and then following it up the next year with 1,001 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Bullard entered the transfer portal after that, going to Michigan State. He only caught five passes for 119 yards during his first season with the program, but Bullard seems in line for a bigger role in MSU's offense this year if he's given the chance.
If Bullard were to win in court, alongside attorney William H. Horton of Giarmarco, Mullins, & Horton in Troy, he would essentially be a sixth-year senior.
Why Bullard is Positioned Well
I think Bullard will have a pretty strong case once the hearing arrives next week. Under the NCAA's new five-year, age-based eligibility rules, the clock only starts when somebody enrolls as a full-time student somewhere, or "the start of the regular academic year immediately following the student-athlete’s 19th birthday."
Bullard turned 22 in February, so neither of those provisions should apply to that first year he was at Valdosta State. That's what makes his case so unusual: both the amount of time he's waited for an answer, as well as the fact the rules seem to indicate pretty black-and-white that he should be eligibile for another year.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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