Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt come up short in bowl game as star QB’s NCAA eligibility lawsuit ramps up

Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia came up short in his pursuit of a ReliaQuest Bowl win over the Iowa Hawkeyes on Wednesday afternoon.

Iowa won the game, 34-27.

Pavia was 25 of 38 for 347 yards with three total touchdowns — two passing and one rushing. The Heisman Trophy finalist had an 11-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to seven points. Iowa and Vanderbilt then traded field goals, but the Commodores couldn’t get the ball back.

The loss to end Vanderbilt’s season comes as Pavia fights the NCAA over its eligibility rules. Although he may end up entering the NFL Draft, the lawsuit is continuing in hopes of helping other junior college players. The lawsuit challenges the NCAA rule that counts seasons spent at junior colleges against players’ eligibility for Division I football.

Last week, a lawyer for Pavia and 26 other football players cited the NCAA’s decision to allow an NBA Draft pick to return to college basketball as a reason a federal judge should let his clients play in 2026 and 2027.

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Pavia initially sued the NCAA in November 2024 and won a preliminary injunction weeks later that allowed him to play this season. He was the SEC Player of the Year this season with 3,192 passing yards and 27 touchdown passes in the regular season. The Commodores finished 10-3 with the loss to Iowa.

The quarterback’s lawsuit has since added 26 other plaintiffs, including Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joey Aguilar.

NCAA rules give athletes five years to play four seasons under an eligibility clock that begins at any “collegiate institution” regardless of whether the school is an NCAA member.

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Pavia played at New Mexico Military Institute in 2020, which wasn’t counted toward eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He led the school to a junior college national championship before he played at New Mexico State in 2022 and 2023 and, later, Vanderbilt.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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