Creighton Prep alum's motion for preliminary injunction denied in lawsuit against the NCAA

In a lawsuit pitting former Creighton Prep football player Jack Hasz against the NCAA, the U.S. District Court in Omaha ruled against Hasz’s motion for preliminary injunction.

Senior District Court Judge Joseph Battaillon submitted the ruling Thursday.

On antitrust grounds, Hasz argued his years in junior college should not count against his Division I eligibility. He needed to prove a likelihood of success on the antitrust merits to have the motion approved, which would have temporarily allowed him to compete this fall.

Most recently, Hasz started at center for the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

NCAA attorney Matt Ralph said in a hearing last week that only three out 27 similar cases succeeded for the plaintiff.

The most notable plaintiff was current Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia. He won his case and will hit the gridiron for the Commodores this year. Following Pavia’s case, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved a waiver granting eligibility back to athletes who competed outside of the NCAA, including junior college.

Despite applying for the waiver, Hasz was denied. The NCAA issued guidance saying the waiver applied to athletes who are less than five years out of high school, not counting the COVID-19 pandemic season.

This is known as the five-year rule, which Hasz’s lawyer Rob Futhey said was anticompetitive because the NCAA starts a player’s clock while in junior college.

“The squeeze that's put on junior college athletes like Jack is they may start at a junior college and go there for one to two years,” Futhey said before a hearing last week, “but their clock has already started ticking for their eligibility under the NCAA rules.”

During a July 18 hearing, Futhey said his client could lose out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in name, image and likeness, or NIL, revenue if his lawsuit was unsuccessful.

Battaillon said in his order that,“Hasz has not shown a likelihood of success on the merits because, on the record presently before it, the Court cannot conclude the Five-Year Rule of eligibility is subject to antitrust scrutiny under the Sherman Act.”

Hasz’s lawyer Rob Futhey told Nebraska Public Media News he’s looking at potential next steps for his client.

All Power Four Conference schools are able to start preseason practice next week.