Michigan Judge Rules Ex-Miami, Boise State Players Eligible This Season; Hearing Set for Nov. 4

A county judge in Ann Arbor has cleared two former college players to compete this season, and Michigan appears ready to use them.

Judge Julia B. Owdziej of the 22nd Washtenaw County Circuit Court granted temporary restraining orders Tuesday, Oct. 13, to former Miami tight end Alex Bauman and former Boise State defensive back Jeremiah Earby. Both were in the transfer portal. The ruling makes each eligible to play in 2026.

Both players are enrolled at Michigan. As of Wednesday, Oct. 14, neither had officially signed with the Wolverines. A Michigan spokesperson declined to comment. CBS Sports was first to report that Michigan is adding the pair through the portal.

What the court said

Court records show both players filed for the orders on Sept. 25. A preliminary injunction hearing is set for Nov. 4.

Owdziej wrote that denying the players eligibility would be "irreparable and severe." She wrote that the harm to the NCAA would be "negligible."

A temporary restraining order is not a final ruling. The Nov. 4 hearing is where the court decides whether the relief continues.

Who the players are

Bauman is a 6-foot-5, 250-pound tight end. He caught 18 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown for Miami last season. Before that he spent three seasons at Tulane, where he had 63 career catches for 610 yards and 13 touchdowns. Miami played Indiana for the national championship in the 2025 season.

Earby is a 6-2, 186-pound defensive back. He earned All-Mountain West second-team honors at Boise State last fall and started for two seasons there. He played two years at California before that. He also recorded 60 tackles for the Broncos last season.

Neither player signed with an NFL team. That is the hook for the legal argument: they are members of the high school class of 2022 who say the NCAA's eligibility limits single them out. A wave of such lawsuits followed the NCAA's guidelines on how many years an athlete can compete.

Michigan's situation

Michigan is 3-2 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten under first-year coach Kyle Whittingham. The Wolverines lost 20-14 at Minnesota on Oct. 3. They host Penn State on Saturday, Oct. 17.

The program has held roster spots open in hopes that both players would be ruled eligible. Whether either dresses against Penn State depends on Michigan completing the signings.

The NCAA's position

The NCAA has not commented on the Washtenaw County ruling. Its president, Charlie Baker, did respond this week to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's executive order, which gives Ohio's colleges and universities the option to let athletes who graduated high school in 2022 compete in the 2026-27 academic year.

"One elected official seeking to make their own rules for their own schools' advantage is a terrible way to run athletic competitions," Baker said. He also urged Congress to pass the Protect College Sports Act, proposed federal legislation aimed at reforming college athletics.

Baker's comment was aimed at DeWine, not at the Michigan court. It states the NCAA's objection to eligibility being set state by state.

A patchwork that keeps growing

The Michigan ruling is one of a string of court orders granting eligibility to athletes in recent months. A Fox News Digital report notes that other judges have issued injunctions against the NCAA and the SEC for athletes with NFL ties, and that the SEC has accused LSU of defying its rules. The same report says the NFL has warned clubs they cannot sign any player who returns to college football for 2026, according to a memo.

The result is that eligibility for the same class of players now depends on which court or state a player lands in. Neither the NCAA nor Congress has set a single national standard for this class.

The next concrete date is Nov. 4. If the preliminary injunction is granted, Bauman and Earby keep playing. If it is denied, Michigan will have used two players on the strength of a ruling that did not survive.