Former UTEP football player among dozens granted a TRO to return to college football

On August 27, the Mountain West Conference took a clear stance on the legal battles surrounding high school Class of 2022 football players seeking a fifth season of eligibility. The conference unanimously adopted a rule prohibiting professional athletes from competing in the sport, as per NCAA eligibility standards. According to the rule, a student-athlete is ineligible if they declare for a professional sports league draft and do not timely withdraw, appear on the roster of a professional sports league, or sign a contract with a professional sports league to provide athletic services.

This means any player who meets one or more of these criteria would be deemed ineligible for football competition at a Mountain West member institution. Shortly after the conference's statement, Pete Nakos, a national college football insider, reported that former UTEP safety Solo Barnes plans to return to the program. This news came after a Dallas judge issued a restraining order restoring eligibility for Barnes and approximately two dozen other players.

KTSM Sports attempted to confirm with UTEP if the player would indeed return, and queried the Mountain West Conference to determine if Barnes would be deemed ineligible under their recent stance. The restraining order issued by the Dallas judge specifically named the SEC, preventing them from stopping these athletes from returning to college sports for an additional year.

However, it remains uncertain how this would affect the Mountain West Conference's recent stance. This ongoing legal dispute stems from the NCAA's recent changes to its eligibility rules. In June, the NCAA introduced an age-based eligibility rule, allowing student-athletes to play five seasons within a maximum of five years of eligibility.

Yet, Class of 2022 high school football players who had already exhausted their eligibility by playing four full seasons under the previous rules and entered the NFL Draft process earlier were barred from returning for a fifth season under the new rules. The players suing the NCAA argue that they would have opted to stay an additional year in college if they had been aware of the association's rule change.