Oklahoma’s Owen Heinecke sues NCAA for another year of eligibility as key April dates loom

By Canadian Press on March 25, 2026.

Oklahoma linebacker Owen Heinecke is suing the NCAA for an additional year of eligibility, according to court documents.

Heinecke played briefly in three games of lacrosse at Ohio State in February 2022, costing him a year of eligibility. He transferred to play football at Oklahoma, then sat out a year because of injury. He was mostly a special teams player in 2023 and 2024 before breaking out last season with 74 tackles, including 12 for loss, and three sacks.

Oklahoma submitted a request for an eligibility waiver, but it was denied in January, and an appeal was denied in February. An emergency hearing is set for April 16 in Norman, Oklahoma. The timing is critical — Oklahoma’s Spring Game is April 18 and the NFL Draft is April 23-25.

Heinecke has hired an agent and participated in the Senior Bowl, Oklahoma Pro Day and the NFL Scouting Combine while trying to regain the year of college eligibility.

Heinecke’s lawyers say he should get the additional year because of factors beyond his control. They say Heinecke lost his year of eligibility as a freshman because the Ohio State’s lacrosse coach ignored his request to redshirt so he could recover from high school injuries. They say the NCAA “breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing owed to Owen, and acted in bad faith, in denying Owen an additional year of eligibility so that he can compete as an intercollegiate athlete in the year 2026-27.”

The filing says Heinecke wants to return to school to improve his draft stock and seek his master’s degree in accounting. Oklahoma is backing his quest.

“OU fully supports Owen and his pursuit of a fair opportunity to continue playing the game he loves,” Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny said in a statement. “We’ll stand firmly beside him as he works to do just that.”

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Cliff Brunt, The Associated Press