KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar has been granted a temporary restraining order in his lawsuit against the NCAA as he seeks an extra year of eligibility enabling him to continue playing for the Volunteers this fall.
The ruling was granted Wednesday after Aguilar filed suit last week in Knox County Chancery Court in Tennessee arguing that he should be allowed a fourth year of playing Division I football rather than having the years he spent in junior college count against his eligibility.
This restraining order remains in effect for 15 days as Aguilar awaits an injunction hearing on his case.
Chancellor Christopher D. Heagerty’s ruling stated that Aguilar “has demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of his claim.” The ruling applies only to Aguilar.
Aguilar played at Diablo Valley (California) Community College from 2021-22 before transferring to Appalachian State, where he spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Aguilar then transferred to Tennessee and completed 67.3% of his passes for 3,565 yards with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this past season.
He also redshirted at City College of San Francisco in 2019 before the 2020 season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Aguilar had removed himself from the list of plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit that Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia filed in federal court. Pavia’s lawsuit challenged an NCAA rule that counts seasons spent at junior colleges against players’ eligibility for Division I football.
Pavia initially sued the NCAA in November 2024 and won a preliminary injunction that allowed him to play for Vanderbilt in 2025. He finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting.
The NCAA appealed the Pavia ruling but issued a blanket waiver that granted an extra year of eligibility to former junior college players whose situations were similar to the Vanderbilt quarterback.
Although Pavia now plans to enter the NFL draft, he continued his lawsuit to assist other former junior college players. Aguilar’s complaint notes that a ruling on the Pavia case won’t come until at least Feb. 10, which put him in a “untenable position” because he needed to know soon whether he’d be eligible to play college football this fall.
“This outcome — after the plaintiff withdrew from a federal lawsuit and separately filed a lawsuit in state court with the exact same facts — illustrates the impossible situation created by differing court decisions that serve to undermine rules agreed to by the same NCAA members who later challenge them in court," the NCAA said in a statement responding to Wednesday's ruling. "We will continue to defend the NCAA’s eligibility rules against repeated attempts to rob high school students of the opportunity to compete in college and experience the life-changing opportunities only college sports can create.
"The NCAA and its member schools are making changes to deliver more benefits to student-athletes, but the patchwork of state laws and inconsistent, conflicting court decisions make partnering with Congress essential to provide stability for all college athletes.”
Heagerty’s ruling referenced “the time-sensitive nature” of Aguilar’s case.
“Each day that passes leaves Aguilar unable to prepare and jeopardizes major career opportunities, lost time and opportunities that cannot be fully calculated or remedied with money damages,” Heagerty wrote in his ruling.
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FILE - Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar (6) looks to throw a pass during the second half of the Music City Bowl NCAA college football game against Illinois, Dec. 30, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Lindsey Vonn needed to use a crutch to get around over the weekend. Now she’s performing box jumps, working out in a pool while wearing a weighted vest and skiing at high speed.
No wonder the 41-year-old American is so optimistic that she can compete in the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics downhill on Sunday despite a ruptured ACL in her left knee.
“I’m pretty confident that she can still pull off this dream,” Chris Knight, Vonn’s head coach, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “I’ve got no doubts in my mind that this is going to be OK.”
Vonn’s team of two physical therapists — Lindsay Winninger and Andi Mitterfellner — and fitness trainer Peter Meliessnig have been working overtime with her.
“She’s been doing box jumps, she’s trying everything out, loads and stresses and things like that to just see where she’s at and see how she feels and she’s pulled up great from everything,” Knight said. “No swelling, no pain.”
Vonn said on Tuesday that surgery “hasn’t been discussed."
“It’s not really on my radar screen right now. The Olympics are the only thing that I’m thinking about,” she said. “Every day my knee’s gotten better. And every day we’re discussing with a full medical team, doctors, physios, everyone, to make sure we’re doing everything to make sure I am making smart and safe decisions.”
Vonn had a partial titanium replacement inserted into her right knee in 2024 and returned to ski racing last season after nearly six years of retirement.
Now she also has bone bruising and meniscal damage in her left knee, though her doctors are not sure if the meniscal issue is a result of her latest injury or from her long series of mishaps earlier in her career.
“She’s not 20 years old, she’s 40 years old. And we’re not looking at anything past this year anyway,” Knight said. “Obviously there’s some risks to just to be able to even ski at the level she wants to ski at. And nobody knows 100% what’s going to happen. But all the right markers and factors are there for us. … It’s a pretty easy decision to keep moving forward.”
Vonn was injured when she lost control landing a jump in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on Friday, and ended up crashing into the safety nets.
“She did have a crutch up until yesterday,” Knight said. “Just to help with a little bit of the load-bearing, but now that’s gone, too."
After using a crutch on Monday, Vonn tried some free skiing on Tuesday.
“She did some high-speed skiing,” Knight said, “and had no issues.”
Still, Vonn and her team could use some more time for recovery. Knight said she wouldn’t mind if there’s a weather-related cancellation and they got their wish Wednesday when organizers announced that Thursday’s opening downhill training session would not be held due to the heavy ongoing snowfall on the course.
“But we also need to get out of the start gate on one training run in case something happens further along the line and they have to cancel something else,” Knight said.
Two more training sessions are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, and Vonn needs to start at least one session to take part in Sunday’s race. She might only do just one.
“We have to see what the conditions are like,” Knight said. “There’s lots of options.”
Vonn holds the record of 12 World Cup wins in Cortina and has been racing here for nearly a quarter century, since before some of her current competitors were born. She's also come back successfully from injuries of this magnitude before.
“We’re on familiar territory,” Knight said. “That’s always been the most important part of it, going into this whole comeback 18-month project, is that we knew that we would get to a spot where she’s very, very familiar with. … Nothing is unknown apart from what’s just happened.”
There’s also this: Vonn wants to race in honor of her late mother, Lindy, who died in 2022 of ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and her childhood coach, Erich Sailer, who died in August aged 99.
She stopped to visit Sailer’s grave in Austria on her way to Cortina.
“It’s just so many reasons for her to not let go that they’re powering her along and keeping the adrenaline high,” Knight said. “You don’t want to slow down in these situations.”
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
United States' Lindsey Vonn holds her left knee after crashing, during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)
United States' Lindsey Vonn, Isabella Wright, Mary Bocock and Breezy Johnson, from left, attend a press conference by the U.S. ski team at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
United States' Lindsey Vonn smiles during a press conference by the U.S. ski team at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
United States' Lindsey Vonn approaches the finish area after crashing, during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)
United States' Lindsey Vonn attends a press conference by the U.S. ski team at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
