The NCAA filed an appeal on Friday, asking for the reversal of a preliminary injunction that Cleveland County District Court Judge Thad Balkman gave last week to star Oklahoma linebacker Owen Heinecke.
The injunction granted Heinecke 1 more season of college football eligibility this fall, and Heinecke was given a hero’s welcome a few days later by Sooners fans at the Oklahoma spring game.
But Heinecke made not be out of the woods yet regarding his eligibility this fall. That’s because the NCAA is now asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to reverse that decision that seemed to have enabled Heinecke to play 1 more season for the Sooners. According to George Stoia III, who covers Oklahoma football for SoonerScoop and On3, the NCAA will file arguments “saying the injunction was wrong.”
After that is done, according to Stoia, Heinecke’s legal team will respond by defending the ruling that was made public on April 16. Once the sides have done that, an appellate court will decide whether to uphold the original ruling or overturn it in favor of the NCAA.
According to Stoia, Heinecke’s legal team will have 30 days to respond to Friday’s appeal by the NCAA.
The NCAA filed the appeal in the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Friday. In the appeal, it claimed that “the district court erroneously granted Mr. Heinecke his requested injunctive relief.”
Oklahoma hopes to have Heinecke for the 2026 season, which would greatly improve the Sooners’ chances to make the College Football Playoff. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about Oklahoma’s chances to get back to the Playoff this fall:
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Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
