Joey Aguilar one of 26 former JUCO players seeking extension in Diego Pavia ruling

Tennessee Football quarterback Joey Aguilar said on Friday afternoon in Nashville that he’s looking forward to one more opportunity to compete alongside his teammates when the Vols face Illinois in the Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium on Tuesday. 

“I’m excited to go out there and play one more time for this team,” Aguilar told reporters as Tennessee started on-site bowl practice. “I’m super grateful for the coaches, community and players for accepting me in.”

Meanwhile on Friday Aguilar was one of 26 former junior college players who added their names as plaintiffs to the Diego Pavia lawsuit, seeking in a court filing another year of eligibility through an extension of the ruling that allowed Pavia to play this season.  

The 26 players, according to the filing, “seek immediate injunctive relief to preclude the (NCAA) from enforcing its Intercollegiate Competition Rules to preclude Plaintiffs from paying NCAA Division I college football in 2026-27 and/or 2027-28 year on the grounds that such enforcement violates Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.”

In an extension of the Diego Pavia eligibility case, 26 former JUCO players are requesting an additional playing season, asking the court in a filing today to extend the injunction granted to Pavia last year. The players want a January hearing before the transfer portal closes. pic.twitter.com/cbb9sB2EQU

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 27, 2025

‘Plaintiffs asks the Court to judicially extend the waiver issued by the NCAA’

A preliminary injunction allowed Pavia to play for Vanderbilt this season. He led the Commodores to a 10-win season for the first time in program history and was a Heisman Trophy finalist after throwing for 3,192 yards and 27 touchdowns and rushing for 826 yards and nine touchdowns. 

The filing on Friday asked for the same ruling for the 2025-26 season that allowed Pavia to compete this season:

“Plaintiffs in this case are all similarly situated to Pavia in that they started their collegiate football careers at junior college prior to transferring to NCAA Division I schools. They seek the same relief Pavia sought (which the NCAA has, to date, denied them). Unfortunately, rather than drafting its waiver to apply until the conclusion of this lawsuit, the NCAA drafted it to last only through the end of the 2025-26 season. 

“Plaintiffs ask the Court to maintain the status quo created when the Court issued its injunction one year ago and the NCAA issued a blanket waiver extending that injunction to all similarly situated former junior college athletes. 

“While the present college football season is coming to a close, this case is not yet over, and the present status quo allows former junior college players to compete in NCAA Division I football without regard to years of eligibility or seasons of competition at junior college. Plaintiffs asks the Court to judicially extend the waiver issued by the NCAA in response to this Court’s own prior ruling until the conclusion of the case.”

Joey Aguilar on next season: ‘My answer is still my answer’

Aguilar, an Antioch, Calif., native, spent the previous two seasons at Appalachian State, where he threw for 6,760 yards, 56 touchdowns and 24 interceptions in 25 games. He threw for 3,444 yards and 24 touchdowns this season.

He played two seasons at Diablo Community College in California, in 2021 and 2022, before transferring up to Appalachian State. 

Aguilar has stayed quiet about the Pavia lawsuit extension since it was reported last month that his name would be one of the many added as plaintiffs. He has also remained uncertain, at least publicly, about his plans for next season. 

“My answer is still my answer,” Aguilar said on December 16, “just focus on the season and pursue what I want to pursue afterwards.”