Diego Pavia has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA as he seeks additional college eligibility.

The Vanderbilt quarterback claims the NCAA is violating antitrust laws because they count junior college seasons toward NCAA eligibility.

Pavia spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons at New Mexico Military Institute before transferring to New Mexico State ahead of the 2022 campaign. Pavia was at NMSU in 2022 and 2023 before transferring to Vanderbilt in 2024.

Here’s a copy of part of Pavia’s lawsuit against the NCAA, which claims the rules caused athletes to lose NIL money:

Diego Pavia sued the NCAA.

He argues that NCAA rules that count juco seasons toward NCAA eligibility and prohibit redshirting after an athlete has played 4 years at an NCAA school violate antitrust law.

He claims the rules cause athletes to miss out on $NIL. pic.twitter.com/Oq8kXfPgMo

— Mit Winter (@WinterSportsLaw) November 9, 2024

Here is an excerpt from the process:

“In other words, athletes who play football outside of the NCAA monopoly have no meaningful opportunity to profit from their name, image or likeness. Even so, JUCO eligibility restriction regulations limit the ability of athletes who begin their college football careers in junior colleges to have the same opportunity to take advantage of the NIL as students entering as freshmen at an NCAA institution.

Specifically, JUCO eligibility regulations limit athletes who begin their college careers at junior colleges to only two or three seasons of NCAA Division I football, as opposed to the four seasons of competition (and NIL compensation opportunities) available to all others NCAA Division I football. players.”

Pavia is seeking a temporary restraining order against the NCAA that prevents him from being eligible to play the 2025-26 season under the current set of rules. The lawsuit was filed in Tennessee.

If granted, Pavia would be eligible to play next season for Vanderbilt or any other team. So far in 2024, he has led Vandy to one win in the best season in the James Franklin era. The Commodores have already earned a bowl game appearance for the first time since 2018.

Vandy will face South Carolina on Saturday.