Reineri Ortega Suing for Eligibility

If he gets any eligibility, he will be 28 years old.
It would certainly be a little odd, but it's not unheard of to have older guys on the roster.

That said, the older DI wrestlers are typically former military personnel, and they usually don't have a significant results-based impact on the team's results.
The only exception I know of is Charlie Jones, who was 28 when he became Purdue's last national champ back in 1992, believe it or not.

Additionally, I doubt there's any precedent for immigrants from third-world countries.
This will definitely be interesting to see.

 
I don't think Ortega would be eligible this year (could be wrong) but I think Evan would be more than happy to give up the 133 spot next year. Have to imagine he's pretty excited to move up to 141.
Probably not if he has to wrestle Ech for the spot. Not sure if Ech has decided one way or the other yet.
 
Someone explain this fiasco to me please.
Ortega went to a school post high school in Cuba but didn't do anything athletically. When he came to the US and finally went to a US college and thought he would wrestle, the NCAA said his Five Year clock started in Cuba and he had exhausted his eligibilty without ever participating in any sport.

They point to the NCAA allowing pro athletes to go back to school with full eligibility in other sports. (Brandon Weeden played pro baseball for 6 years before enrolling at OSU and playing FB.) I think they are also pointing to the new ruling that G-League players can go back to school with preserved eligibility.

They are also pointing out that this athlete enrolled in a non-NCAA school so the NCAA should not have jurisdiction over his time at the school in Cuba.
 
The big sticking point here is the NCAA rule that if an athlete participates under a court injunction and later loses their case, the NCAA can (and will) sanction a team on which the athlete participated.

They are asking for a permanant injunction against that rule. Without that permanent injunction Ortega could get the injunction allowing him to participate but not get the chance since ISU would risk losing the season if he participates but ultimately loses the case.
 
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Just from a common sense standpoint this is becoming harder and harder to defend. The NCAA is now allowing foreign PROFESSIONAL players to have full eligibility when they then come to the US and enroll in an NCAA member institution, but you can't just go to college and not participate in any sport and preserve your eligibilty in those same countries?
 
I don't care what the sport is, who the athlete is, or what the school is: a 29 year old college athlete is gross and it is not an avenue I want to see college sports go down.

That said, based on previous court rulings, NCAA rulings, etc it certainly seems like this man should be eligible.
 

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