Three University of Kansas athletes will remain eligible to compete after the Indiana Court of Appeals denied the NCAA's emergency request to suspend an injunction granting them additional collegiate eligibility.
In an order issued Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, Chief Judge Elizabeth F.
Tavitas upheld the preliminary injunction, preserving the playing status of basketball guard Tre White and football players Chase Belcher and Clifton Thompson.
The ruling also protects 94 other student-athletes covered by the same injunction, which allows them to pursue a fifth year of collegiate eligibility.
According to reporting by The Kansas City Star, Belcher and Thompson remained eligible to play in Kansas' Saturday football game against Kansas State under the order.
The decision means the NCAA cannot immediately enforce its challenge to the injunction while the current ruling remains in effect.
The athletes and Kansas' athletic department face no punishment for participating in games under the eligibility order issued by Indiana courts, according to the published reports.
Tavitas authored the appellate court's order, with the other judges concurring.
The NCAA could still ask the Indiana Supreme Court to review the decision, although the state's highest court is not required to hear the appeal.
The Indiana Supreme Court had already rejected an earlier attempt by the NCAA's side to bypass the appeals court and transfer its challenge directly to the state's highest court.
That rejection occurred on Oct. 1, according to KU Sports.
The case concerns student-athletes seeking an additional season of eligibility.
The preliminary injunction originated in Monroe County, Indiana, where the athletes challenged the NCAA's eligibility restrictions.
If the parties pursue no further appeals, the lawsuit could proceed to trial.
However, the proceedings could extend beyond the current football and basketball seasons, potentially leaving the final decision with little practical effect on athletes whose remaining college playing opportunities are limited by the academic and athletic calendar.
For Kansas, the ruling preserves immediate options for players joining or returning to its football and basketball programs.
Thompson, who previously played at Central Connecticut State, made his Jayhawks debut in a loss to Utah the previous weekend, while Belcher had not yet appeared in a game, according to KU Sports.
White was scheduled to participate in Kansas' basketball exhibition against Pittsburg State on Friday.
Another Kansas basketball player, Melvin Council Jr., has eligibility under a separate injunction issued in New York, which the NCAA appealed on Thursday, KU Sports reported.
The Indiana decision comes amid other eligibility disputes in which trial-court injunctions have been suspended during appeals.
The latest order leaves the protections for the Kansas athletes in place while the legal challenge continues.
