Former Virginia Quarterback Chandler Morris Files NCAA Lawsuit for Additional Year of Eligibility

The Virginia Cavaliers faced a significant loss this offseason when news broke that starting quarterback Chandler Morris had been denied an additional year of eligibility. This immediately prompted head coach Tony Elliott to begin scoping out other options in the portal. He received criticism early on for not addressing this position sooner, but he eventually gained enough traction.

Elliott was able to land Missouri transfer Beau Pribula and Pittsburgh transfer Eli Holstein, and while this duo is expected to be a dominant force on the field, the absence of Morris will undoubtedly be noticeable for quite some time. During his 2025 campaign with the Cavaliers, he completed 282 of 436 passes for a clean 3,000 yards at 64.7%. Along the way, he logged 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Having Morris back on board would be quite the reunion, but welcoming him back is not an easy as it sounds.

Morris Seeks One More Option

Virginia Cavaliers Chandler Morris running with a football — Virginia Cavaliers quarterback Chandler Morris | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Despite being denied a seventh year of eligibility, Morris has now resorted to filing a lawsuit against the NCAA in a Virginia state court. According to CFB writer Chris Hummer, Morris will be represented by JP Kernisan and Ben O'Neil.

Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in a Virginia state court seeking a 7th year of eligibility, his agent @simon_pflum tells @CBSSports.

Morris has retained JP Kernisan and Ben O’Neil for his legal representation. pic.twitter.com/fbvMUzhqud
— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) February 24, 2026

Per Carter Bahns of CBS Sports, Morris' waiver was based on his injuries suffered in 2022 and 2023. In 2022, he completed 18 or 27 passes for 145 yards at 66.7%. The following year at TCU, he completed 133 of 203 passes for 1,532 yards at 65.5%.

Although he spent much of these two seasons plagued by injury, he was generally quite healthy during his 2024 campaign with North Texas and certainly during his latest season with the Cavaliers.

Morris played an integral role in bringing the Hoos to the highly touted ACC Championship Gam last year, leading his team through critical players and getting them into the end zone. However, now that UVA has a loaded quarterback room, between Pribula, Holstein and incoming freshman Ely Hamrick, it would not be a smooth transition to bring Morris back, as valuable as he provides to the program.

Elliott now has a crowded quarterback room filled with reliability and talent—there's already going to be staunch competition here.

Morris is certainly not the only quarterback to take such measures to gain an additional year, and he surely won't be the last. Regardless of how this plays out, the outcome is going to present immense challenges at this point.