Ole Miss began spring football drills on Friday, and shortly after, the team was handed a word of great news — star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has cleared what is likely to be the last hurdle in his pursuit to compete during the 2026-27 season.
A months-long back-and-forth involving a waiver request being denied three times, a court hearing that resulted in the NCAA’s decision being superseded, and a last-ditch effort by college athletics’ governing body to have Mississippi’s Supreme Court intervene in the case has seemingly come to a close. The state’s high court sided with Chambliss and company in saying the quarterback is deserving of another collegiate season, denying the NCAA’s attempt at an appeal.
Ole Miss initially sought a waiver for Chambliss last November, claiming that he was entitled to a medical redshirt due to a battle with chronic tonsillitis and other respiratory issues that deemed him incapable of playing at Ferris State in 2022. The NCAA, when reviewing the case, argued that insufficient evidence had been submitted to justify allowing Chambliss another year of eligibility.
Even after more documentation was presented, along with testimony from Ferris State officials, the NCAA stuck to its guns and denied Chambliss an additional year the day after Ole Miss lost to Miami in the College Football Playoff semifinals. Chambliss promptly lawyered up, seeking the counsel of The Grove Collective founder William Liston, a respected Mississippi trial lawyer, and Tom Mars, a prominent attorney known to represent athletes.
The legal team took Chambliss’ case to state court. On Feb. 12, a hearing was held in Calhoun County and presided over by Chancery Court Judge Robert Whitwell. An hours-long affair played out with the NCAA and Chambliss’ attorneys making their cases. After both sides rested, Whitwell laid out a 90-minute ruling in which he contended that the NCAA had failed Ole Miss as a member institution and Chambliss as a student-athlete in giving fair consideration to the waiver request.
After granting Chambliss a preliminary injunction, which barred the NCAA from enforcing its ruling that he could not compete, the NCAA took to the state’s high court to overrule Whitwell by seeking to appeal his verdict prior to the start of the upcoming season. That effort failed, with justices denying the NCAA’s petition. It is worth noting that hat six of Mississippi’s seven supreme court justices went to Ole Miss in some academic capacity.
“After due consideration, we find that the petition (for an appeal) should be denied,” the justices wrote.
The NCAA’s case being shot down might not be the final saga of this case. Just under two weeks ago, Chambliss’ legal team went to the Lafayette County Court with allegations that the NCAA’s conduct in the eligibility case could have cost the field general millions of dollars in name, image, and likeness compensation.
Chambliss, per the legal filing, was engaged in negotiations with EA Sports, and as of March 6, was one of three players — if not the favorite — to be on the cover of the upcoming College Football 27 video game. The attorneys alleged that Chambliss suffered punitive damages and could be entitled to compensation from the NCAA.
“In the event of evidence developed in the course of discovery in this action demonstrating the NCAA acted with malice, gross negligence, or in reckless disregard for Trinidad’s rights, Trinidad hereby seeks an award of punitive damages of and from the NCAA,” the filing reads. “In the event of an award of punitive damages in favor of Trinidad and against the NCAA, Trinidad hereby seeks an award of his attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred in this action.”
Chambliss was one of the biggest surprises, if not the biggest surprise, of the 2024-25 college football season. After winning a national championship at Ferris State the year before, Chambliss transferred to Ole Miss to back up now-Missouri quarterback Austin Simmons. A week-two injury to Simmons found the Division II transfer with the keys to former head coach Lane Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr.’s offense.
From there, he thrived, leading the Rebels to an 11-2 record as a starter, including the program’s first-ever College Football Playoff appearance. The run included a round one win over Tulane and a thrilling Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia before the season ended in a 31-27 loss to national title runner-up Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.
Ole Miss will begin the 2026-27 season under the guidance of first-year head coach Pete Golding with the assurance that Chambliss will be back alongside standout running back Kewan Lacy and a star-studded cast of fellow returning talent and highly-touted prospects from the transfer portal. The Rebels will open things versus Louisville in Nashville on Sept. 6.