RJ Godfrey will almost certainly have to keep watching from the bench a little longer. Pima County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Bergin has set a full-day hearing for Tuesday, Nov. 17, in the forward's eligibility lawsuit against the University of Arizona and the Arizona Board of Regents, a timeline that likely rules him out for the Wildcats' upcoming games against NAU and Auburn.
Bergin scheduled the hearing after hearing arguments from both sides, according to the Arizona Daily Star, which reported that the judge moved two other cases off his calendar to make room for Godfrey's. Bergin said he could not hear the case this week, citing the Veterans Day holiday among his reasons, and he has asked all sides to submit evidence and other materials by Nov. 19. Godfrey's attorney, Ryan Downton, had requested an immediate temporary restraining order along with a later hearing on a possible injunction, arguing that a quick decision would ease what he called the irreparable harm Godfrey is suffering by being unable to play.
The case traces back to a complaint Godfrey's attorneys filed against the Arizona Board of Regents and the university on Nov. 5. According to a separate tucson.com report, the complaint alleges the Regents, acting on behalf of UA, breached contracts with both the NCAA and Godfrey by failing to certify him as eligible under NCAA Bylaw 12.6. Godfrey's attorneys say he is not suing the NCAA itself — only seeking an order requiring UA to perform what they describe as its own contractual obligations to him. He is asking the court for a temporary restraining order, a preliminary injunction, and ultimately a permanent injunction and specific performance requiring the university to certify him as eligible.
What Bylaw 12.6 Actually Says
At the center of the dispute is NCAA Manual Rule 12.6, which provides athletes a five-year window to play, with that clock starting at either an athlete's 19th birthday or their initial college enrollment. Godfrey entered college in 2022 and transferred to Arizona from Clemson. His attorneys argue the bylaw does not specifically exclude players who entered college that year from the NCAA's newer, age-based eligibility framework — even though the NCAA has publicly stated that class of 2022 enrollees are excluded, according to the earlier tucson.com report on the lawsuit.
Arizona's Phoenix-based outside counsel, Brendan Melander, told Bergin that the NCAA is not a party to the lawsuit and that it is the association, not the university, that enforces its own eligibility rules. The NCAA has told Downton it could not participate in hearings over the next two weeks if it were to become involved in the case, and the association may still join Arizona as a defendant — a development that could delay the Nov. 17 hearing further, per the same tucson.com account.
A Pattern of Mixed Rulings Across the Country
Godfrey's legal fight has already bounced through multiple courts this year. He was one of 16 Class of 2022 basketball recruits who sued the NCAA in Georgia on July 9, seeking a fifth year of eligibility, according to The State. He won a preliminary injunction there in August that would have allowed him to become eligible, though Arizona did not clear him to play; the NCAA then obtained a stay on that order in September. More recently, a judge in a Texas case ruled that Godfrey and other new plaintiffs involved in cases in other jurisdictions would not receive injunctive relief.
The legal landscape nationally remains unsettled. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and vacated a lower court's preliminary injunction in the separate Wisne v. NCAA case on Nov. 6, a dispute centered on the NCAA's five-year eligibility clock and its implementation, USA Today reported. In its opinion, the appeals court found that the plaintiffs' proposed labor market — all of NCAA Division I athletics nationwide — lacked evidentiary support, according to the Tenth Circuit opinion. The State also reported that an Ohio judge recently granted injunctions to 15 athletes seeking a retroactive fifth year, underscoring how differently courts around the country have ruled on nearly identical claims. Arizona Sports has described the broader fallout from the NCAA's eligibility overhaul, which did not grandfather in 2022 high school graduates, as opening the door to waves of lawsuits from players fighting to continue their college careers.
What It Means for Arizona's Season
For now, the practical impact in Tucson is straightforward. Godfrey has missed games for the Wildcats already, and the Nov. 17 hearing date means he's likely to remain sidelined for Arizona's matchups against NAU and Auburn. He watched the second half of Arizona's Nov. 5 game against Cal Poly from the bench as the Wildcats picked up their first win of the season under coach Tommy Lloyd.
Looking ahead, Arizona is scheduled to host UConn and will also play in the Maui Invitational, which runs Nov. 23-25. Per the Arizona Daily Star's reporting, the article notes that the NCAA likely cannot penalize Arizona retroactively for playing Godfrey if the university were following a court order that was later overturned — a legal wrinkle that could shape how aggressively the university pursues clearance for him once the Nov. 17 hearing plays out. For now, Godfrey's eligibility — and his season — remains in the hands of a Pima County courtroom.
