An emergency hearing will be held Thursday morning for OU linebacker Owen Heinecke’s preliminary injunction lawsuit against the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility.
In March, Heinecke filed a preliminary injunction against the NCAA for another season of eligibility after the association determined the three lacrosse games Heinecke played for Ohio State in 2022 counts toward his five-year period of eligibility.
Heinecke argued he qualified for a waiver because he was not given the opportunity to play football in 2022 because Ohio State did not hold football tryouts that year due to university COVID-19 restrictions. “Owen Heinecke is what’s good about collegiate athletics, …” the injunction reads. “Owen seeks only to play his fourth season of college football. In other words, Owen seeks to compete in the precise number of college football seasons allowed by the NCAA.”
Heinecke’s initial petition for eligibility was denied on Jan. 29 and his appeal was denied on Feb. 24.
Redshirt junior linebacker Owen Heinecke during the game against Alabama on Dec. 19.
The hearing, which will be presided over by Cleveland County Judge Thad Balkman, will come one week before the 2026 NFL Draft and two days before OU’s spring football game.
NCAA response to lawsuit
The NCAA filed a response last week opposing the lawsuit, arguing Heinecke chose to attend Ohio State on a lacrosse scholarship despite receiving multiple scholarships to play football at Division I institutions.
“The Five-Year Rule may be waived only in narrow, defined circumstances, limited to those [c]ircumstances considered to be beyond the control of the student-athlete or the institution, …” the response reads. “The NCAA denied the waiver because Plaintiff does not meet the requirements to obtain the relief—he chose to attend Ohio State on a lacrosse scholarship with no guarantee to join the football team.”
Additional documents filed in court
On Monday, Heinecke’s lawyers submitted a notice of supplemental authority referencing an October NCAA case in which Nalani Lyde, who first joined University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s women's volleyball team, expected to participate in both volleyball and basketball for the 2020-21 academic year.
Lyde now goes by Nalani Kaysia according to her social media presence and the Providence College website, but she is still listed as Lyde in court documents related to Heinecke’s case. The OU Daily will use Lyde in reference to this case to reduce possible confusion.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 fall volleyball season was postponed to the spring of 2021, resulting in an overlap with basketball, which prevented Lyde from participating in basketball. The NCAA granted Lyde’s waiver for another year of eligibility with Providence College’s basketball team for the 2025-26 season.
The notice argues that OU and Heinecke did not have the chance to cite the decision when initially applying for an eligibility waiver in January because it was not uploaded to the NCAA database. The notice states Heinecke and his legal team first learned about the decision on April 8.
The NCAA response claimed Heinecke’s waiver did not offer any examples of how similarly-situated athletes’ waiver requests have been approved, the notice reads.
The notice states that the NCAA granted Lyde’s extenuating circumstances with the same bylaws it used to reject Heinecke’s.
“This is not some relic that Owen’s counsel dug up,” the notice reads. “This is a decision issued two months before Owen’s request was denied in which the NCAA considered shockingly similar circumstances and employed a vastly different standard of review, considering the totality of the student-athlete’s circumstances—something the NCAA refused to do in considering Owen’s request.”
In response to Heinecke’s notice, the NCAA filed a declaration Tuesday from Jennifer Henderson, NCAA managing director of Division I Governance and Member Services.
Redshirt sophomore defensive back Owen Heinecke during spring practice April 18.
Henderson wrote that Heinecke and Lyde’s cases can not be compared as prior to her enrollment in 2019 Lyde sought to compete in volleyball and basketball in different semesters. Lyde initially received an offer for aid to compete in both sports, but due to a staff change, her offer was withdrawn and she ultimately enrolled with an offer of aid to play volleyball but not basketball.
According to Henderson, Lyde was targeted as a potential walk-on recruit by the basketball team for the 2020-21 season, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNC Charlotte moved its volleyball season to the spring, taking place at the same time as basketball.
According to Henderson, Heinecke’s request for a waiver related to Ohio State not holding football tryouts due to downstream impacts of COVID-19 is not the same as Lyde’s situation because the decision not to hold tryouts was made independently by the university.
The NCAA’s COVID-19 blanket waiver only applied to sports seasons held from spring 2020 through spring 2021. Heinecke first enrolled in school during the 2021-22 academic year.
Henderson also writes that Lyde entered the 2020-21 academic year with an invitation to compete in both sports whereas Heinecke was working upon the assumption he would have the opportunity to play football after trying out.
Head Coach Brent Venables during the OU football offseason media day on March 9, 2026.
Sooner Scoop reported Friday OU head coach Brent Venables and general manager Jim Nagy are set to testify at the injunction hearing alongside Heinecke’s father, Justin, his high school coach JJ Tappana and OU Director of Compliance Brady Newville.
Attorneys were ordered to submit witness and exhibit lists for Thursday’s hearing to each other and the court by 5 p.m. Friday. As of Wednesday morning, Heinecke’s witness list has yet to appear in court records.
Director of Sports Enhancement and strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt and Chief of Staff Woody Glass during the Walk of Champions on Nov. 2.
OU Daily reached out to Heinecke’s legal team, including attorneys Michael Lauderdale, Mary Quinn Cooper and Woody Glass, former OU football chief of staff, Tuesday to confirm the names of witnesses but did not receive a response by the time of this article’s publication.
The Daily also reached out to NCAA's attorney Colin Tucker regarding the case and court documents but did not receive a response by the time of this article’s publication.
OU Athletics Communications told the Daily Wednesday morning there was no planned availability regarding the hearing but said a statement would be issued by the department after Thursday’s hearing.
Who is Owen Heinecke?
A Tulsa native, Heinecke enrolled at OU in 2022. Heinecke played on special teams at OU in 2023 and 2024. In his first career start against Tennessee in 2025, Heinecke totaled 13 tackles. He was named SEC defensive player of the week for his performance. Heinecke ended the season with 74 tackles.
Sooners during the game against Tennessee Nov. 1.
Heinecke started college at Ohio State, playing three games in one season of lacrosse before transferring to OU. Heinecke is the nephew of Cory Heinecke, an OU defensive end from 1999 to 2001 and member of the Sooners' 2000 national championship team.
This story was edited by Joshua McDaniel. Chelsea Low and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
