West Virginia releases statement following ruling on eligibility for multi-transfer athletes

The West Virginia Mountaineers have battled with the NCAA to clear RaeQuan Battle to play this season for the Mountaineers basketball team for several months. It’s been a long, long battle and on Wednesday afternoon, the school finally got some great news from the courts, when a ruling was issued allowing the immediate eligibility of RaeQuan Battle and other multi-transfer athletes across the country.

So, they key question for WVU and other teams across the country, is does this mean that Battle will be immediately eligible? The problem is, according to Jeff Goodman, many teams across the country have been left in the dark about the ruling so far, with no information from the NCAA. Teams like West Virginia are currently in a wait-and-see mode on the status of RaeQuan Battle. The Mountaineers next game is Saturday, Dec. 16th against Massachusetts. That one will be played at 6:30 PM EST.

On Wednesday evening, WVU athletics released a statement on the court ruling on their website.

“We are aware of the ruling today handed down by Judge John P. Bailey of the United States District Court for Northern West Virginia. We are consulting with WVU’s General Counsel along with outside counsel prior to making a determination on the eligibility status of any of our student-athletes. We will discuss this with our student-athletes to make the best decision possible taking into consideration the potential consequences of our decision,” the statement read.

If he finally receives clearance to play, Battle has the talent to be an instant-impact type of player for the Mountaineers. He was a first-team All-Big Sky selection as a junior, stuffing the stat sheet with 17.7 points per game and 2.9 rebounds per game for the Montana State Bobcats. He played his first two seasons of college basketball with the Washington Huskies, before transferring to Montana State for two years.

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Moreover, the initial saga began when Battle’s initial waiver request was denied this spring, after the former Montana State star decided he wanted to take his talents to West Virginia. 

The NCAA denied Battle’s initial waiver request, and then denied West Virginia’s appeal on his behalf last month, after the NCAA announced more stern guidelines for transfers. The aforementioned guidelines included, “proof that a transfer would enhance a player’s mental health if it had been ‘impaired’ at a previous school,” ESPN’s Myron Medcalf reported.

According to Medcalf, Battle told the NCAA the transfer to West Virginia would be beneficial to his mental health, the byproduct of a traumatic stretch in recent years. “Battle, one of the few Indigenous Division I basketball players, has also accused the NCAA of ignoring Native American communities,” Medcalf wrote.

Amid all the drama, Battle filed a federal lawsuit against the NCAA, where he asked a judge to issue a temporary restraining order in his effort to gain immediate eligibility to play. Per ESPN, his lawyers have accused the NCAA of weaponizing waiver requests with inconsistent evaluations.

“For the reasons stated above, Plaintiff asks this Court to judge, hold, and declare that he has an economic right to market and license his name, image and likeness,” stated the complaint filed on Battle’s behalf in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia by attorney Rocky Gianola, via Medcalf. “For the reasons stated above, Plaintiff asks this Court to judge, hold, and declare that he has a right to attend West Virginia University. 

“For the reasons stated above, Plaintiff asks this Court to judge, hold, and declare that he has a right to play on the varsity basketball team at West Virginia University. For the reasons stated above, Plaintiff asks this Court to judge, hold, and declare that he has a right to be treated fairly by the NCAA.”

On3’s Steve Samra also contributed to this article.