Michigan State wide receiver sues NCAA to restore lost season of eligibility
Michigan State graduate wideout Rodney Bullard Jr. has filed a lawsuit seeking a court order that would reinstate a season of eligibility the NCAA says he has exhausted.
Rodney Bullard Jr., a graduate-student wide receiver for Michigan State, has taken legal action against the NCAA to regain a season of playing eligibility for the upcoming fall campaign. His lawyer, William H. Horton of Giarmarco, Mullins and Horton, filed a request for both a preliminary and permanent injunction, and a temporary restraining order if needed, in the 30th Circuit Court of Ingham County on Aug. 17. The suit challenges the NCAA’s decision that Bullard exhausted his four-year eligibility after being classified as a full-time student at Valdosta State in fall 2021, contending that a duplicate course reduced his credit hours to part-time status.
Court records show a show-cause hearing before Judge Wanda Stokes set for Aug. 27, while Michigan State’s season begins Sept. 4 versus Toledo. The Spartans have appealed the NCAA’s waiver denial, and coach Pat Fitzgerald noted that Bullard has been training all summer, though his eligibility remains unresolved.
Why it matters
The case could affect how the NCAA counts eligibility for student-athletes with disputed enrollment status.
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