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3 Wisconsin Badgers seniors suing NCAA to pursue fifth year of football eligibility

Three of the Wisconsin Badgers senior starters are trying to get another year of eligibility from the NCAA to continue playing football in 2026.
Lorin Cox|
Sep 6, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers tight end Lance Mason (86) runs the ball against Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders linebacker Parker Hughes (9) during the second half at Camp Randall Stadium
Sep 6, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers tight end Lance Mason (86) runs the ball against Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders linebacker Parker Hughes (9) during the second half at Camp Randall Stadium | Kayla Wolf-Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

Three of the Wisconsin Badgers senior starters are trying to get another year of eligibility from the NCAA.

Tight end Lance Mason, kicker Nathanial Vakos and long snapper Nick Levy filed a class-action lawsuit along with two other Power 4 football players from other schools, seeking to challenge the NCAA's four-year eligibility rules.

The lawsuit argues that the organization's rules violate anti-trust laws because it restricts athletes' ability to earn NIL and other money later in their career if they don't redshirt early in their careers.

None of the three have redshirted through their four collegiate seasons.

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Mason was a three-year starter at Missouri State before transferring to the Badgers this spring and becoming their leading receiver for the first half of the season.

Vakos kicked one year at Ohio as a freshman before following Luke Fickell to Wisconsin in 2023 and taking over as the placekicker for the last three seasons. He is 5-of-8 on field goals so far this season and 14-for-14 on extra points.

Levy snapped for both William & Mary and Purdue before transferring to the Badgers and winning the job in Madison.

In the lawsuit filing, Mason indicated that he would use his fifth year to continue playing at Wisconsin. Vakos said his career would continue with "a major Big Ten program," and Levy did not specifiy where he would play in 2026.

The players are seeking a preliminary injunction to grant them eligibilty next offseason. A hearing is scheduled for mid-December.

Cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean's separate eligibility lawsuit against the NCAA remains ongoing, with no resolution in place.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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