NCAA responds to Owen Heinecke's eligibility lawsuit ahead of hearing
The NCAA is fighting hard to keep Owen Heinecke from returning to Norman.
Former Oklahoma Sooners star linebacker Owen Heinecke has been fighting back hard against the NCAA for an additional year of eligibility in 2026. After his initial petition and appeal were both denied, Heinecke has taken legal action against the NCAA, filing a preliminary injunction request in Cleveland County Court. Heinecke's case will be heard on the morning of April 16th, one week before the 2026 NFL Draft, by judge Thad Balkman, an OU alum.
Heinekce's legal counsel includes former OU chief of staff Woody Glass, Tyler Ames, Mary Cooper, OU law aum Michael Lauderdale, and Andrew Richardson. The linebacker is hoping for a similar result to the one that Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss got, where he was granted the right to play in court, and then the court denied the NCAA's appeal of their decision. However, it looks like the NCAA is not going to go down without a fight.
According to a report from The Oklahoma's Colton Sulley, the NCAA has filed a response opposing Heinecke's request for a preliminary injunction . According to Sulley, "The NCAA argues Heinecke chose to attend Ohio State on a lacrosse scholarship despite numerous DI scholarship opportunities to play football for institutions outside the Power Four conferences. Heinecke received scholarship offers from Army and Navy along with Division II programs Northeastern State and UCO ...
Heinecke chose to attend Ohio State on a lacrosse scholarship without any guarantee he could try out for the football team, let alone obtain a roster spot, which was a circumstance expressly within his control. " Sulley also reported that the NCAA is arguing that "Heinecke was not offered a spot on the Buckeyes’ football roster and following limited participation in lacrosse, he decided he would prefer to play football and transferred to OU. " “Plaintiff did not lose the opportunity to play football due to circumstances beyond control because he decided to reject multiple scholarships to play football,” the NCAA said.