Lane Kiffin reacts to Diego Pavia receiving extra year of eligibility, reveals Jaxson Dart was denied

Eligibility in college football can be a fluid concept these days, and the case of Diego Pavia at Vanderbilt only created more confusion. Pavia was granted a preliminary injunction in a case against the NCAA, paving the way for his eligibility in 2025.

The NCAA shortly after implemented a waiver for players meeting the conditions Pavia did, granting blanket eligibility for an additional year for anyone who had previously competed at a non-NCAA school. But while Diego Pavia was granted an extra year, others were not.

That number apparently includes star Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin revealed that on Tuesday on This Past Weekend with Theo Von.

“Yeah, you never know. We tried, we didn’t win it,” Kiffin said. “Jaxson Dart actually tried to get another year, or at least see if the option was there. And they denied it.”

Of course, Dart didn’t quite fit the same criteria as Diego Pavia. He hadn’t attended a JUCO school.

Dart, instead, began his college career at USC. He then transferred to Ole Miss after just one year, spending his next three years with the Rebels.

Now, eligibility exhausted, Dart will head to the NFL Draft. Diego Pavia is back to see if he can recreate the magic for the Commodores in 2025.

NCAA grants blanket waiver to JUCO players

A waiver by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors has been granted just before Christmas, allowing a set of players to remain eligible for the 2025-2026 season. They must have competed at a non-NCAA school throughout their career while also previously being out of eligibility. Now, the NCAA says they can return for one more year.

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia is the most high-profile example of this waiver, deemed eligible for another year of college football before the NCAA changed its rules. But now the waiver applies to athletes across every NCAA sport.

“NEWS: The NCAA Division I Board of Directors has granted a waiver to permit athletes who attended and competed at a non-NCAA school for 1 or more years to remain eligible and compete in 2025-26 if those athletes would have otherwise used their final season of competition during the 2024-25 academic year, and meet all other eligibility requirements (e.g., progress toward degree, five-year period of eligibility),” Darren Heitner said via Twitter.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this report.

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