⚖️ RJ Godfrey sues Arizona regents over fifth-year eligibility

RJ Godfrey wants a judge to make his own school sign the paperwork. AP and ESPN report that the Arizona forward and his attorneys filed suit Thursday, Nov 5, in Pima County Superior Court against the Arizona Board of Regents, seeking a permanent injunction on his eligibility.

The filing also asks for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction that would allow Godfrey a fifth year of eligibility, according to AP and ESPN. The two reports use near-identical wording on the filing and name no further court or hearing.

Who says what

"requiring the University to perform its own contractual obligations"

AP and ESPN, describing what the lawsuit seeks

Per that description, the order would compel the university to certify Godfrey as eligible, as the NCAA rules state. Yardbarker, which says it syndicated the item from Ball Exclusives, reports that the complaint says the University of Arizona must fulfill its contractual obligation to certify him under current NCAA rules.

The defendant is the Board of Regents. AP and ESPN both say the suit does not name the NCAA. The target is the school's certification, not the association's rulebook.

On the court, AP and ESPN report that the 6-foot-8 forward, a transfer from Clemson, sat out Monday's season opener against UCLA and Thursday's home opener against Cal Poly.

The response

No public response from the Board of Regents, the University of Arizona or the NCAA was found in the reports read. AP, ESPN and Yardbarker carry no statement from either side.

What happens next

The reports read give no hearing date, ruling deadline or response deadline. How quickly a judge acts on the restraining order request is not yet known.

Backstory

Per ESPN, Godfrey joined Arizona after a judge in Georgia granted an injunction clearing him and several other athletes to play this season under the NCAA's new eligibility rules. The Georgia Court of Appeals then granted the NCAA a stay, which ESPN says left his future in limbo. The Pima County filing is the second court route in that story.

Eligibility fights are not new to Arizona basketball. In 2010, ESPN reported, the NCAA vacated 19 wins from the program's 2007-08 season after finding the school used two ineligible players. That was a regulator's finding, not a player's lawsuit.

In Washington, Jackson Lewis wrote in September that the Protect College Sports Act, which advanced in the Senate, would set a uniform five-year eligibility clock. ESPN reported that the bill then passed the Senate and moves to the House. Neither report mentions Godfrey.

As of Nov 6, 2:41 AM ET, what is confirmed is that the suit was filed Thursday in Pima County Superior Court against the Arizona Board of Regents, seeking a fifth year of eligibility and orders to certify Godfrey, and that it does not name the NCAA. Pending: any ruling on the restraining order, any hearing date, the Georgia appeal, and any statement from the school, the Regents or the NCAA.