Legal Expert Weighs in on WVU Eligibility Case vs. NCAA and What Could Happen Next

If you asked away confused from what happened yesterday in the court hearing of Jimmori Robinson et al vs. National Collegiate Athletic Association, don't worry. You're not alone.

Several West Virginia fans are unsure of how to feel after hearing the NCAA's attorney reveal that Robinson is also supposedly academically ineligible, and the mention of Jeffrey Weimer taking a year off from school. From what I recall, I never heard the NCAA mention Tye Edwards or Justin Harrington's name throughout the duration of the hearing.

This morning, I spoke briefly with Legal Studies professor Sam C. Ehrlich, who broke the news of the four WVU players taking their eligibility fight to court, to get his thoughts on where things stand and how this may pan out.

"Ultimately, the judge is almost definitely going to decide all four cases collectively. The legal issues are the same between all four. Maybe he finds that one or both of Robinson or Weimer's cases are mooted because of the issues the NCAA identified, but I kind of doubt it -- throwing info like that in a hearing is really improper since you're not giving the plaintiffs a chance to adequately respond. But we'll see!

"If Robinson is indeed academically ineligible, that's a separate issue, so maybe the judge gives him a preliminary injunction on the Five-Year Rule, but the NCAA still rules him academically ineligible. The Weimer argument (at least as I understand it) is ridiculous, so I don't think there's any impact there.

"There's probably a fair amount of confusion about what exactly the issues at play are going to be for the judge. Like I've seen quite a few people speculating how the judge is going to rule on whether Robinson is academically ineligible... it's not in front of him, so he won't. That's just an NCAA thing.

One thing I found odd during the hearing was the NCAA's representation bringing up roster limits, stating that WVU is at 119 and that by clearing these four players, it would mean other players would lose their spot. Roster limits are coming, but there is a grandfather clause to allow teams to surpass that total this year.

Ehrlich explained why he thinks the NCAA's side brought this up.

"I think the roster limits (and maybe the other stuff too) is being used to argue that the players haven't proven anticompetitive harm, which is a necessary element for the antitrust claims. The harm has to be across the entire labor market, and I'm guessing what the NCAA was going for is that WVU didn't have any trouble filling their roster (and then some), which shows that the labor market is just fine. I don't know if it's all that strong of an argument, but the roster limits wouldn't be relevant for any other reason, I don't think. But without seeing it in context, I'm not sure."

So, when can we expect a ruling? Ehrlich laid out his best guess for a timeline.

"Judges tend to work on their own time, but Judge Bailey knows here that time is of the essence. I'd expect something by the end of the week, or maybe early to mid next week."

Obviously, the sooner the better. These four have not been able to participate in practice, and with a little over one week until the start of the season, they're going to be way behind. They can do their own work to stay ready, but there's nothing like facing the live bullets in practice and getting those extremely valuable reps in fall camp, which is now over.

Fortunately for WVU, they have an easier start to the season with Robert Morris coming to Morgantown, which gives them an extra week to catch up to speed.

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