Lyons & Simmons and Brian Lauten, P.C. File Emergency Action to Protect College Athlete's Eligibility and NIL Rights

Michael Lyons of Lyons & Simmons, along with co-counsel Brian Lauten of Brian Lauten, P.C., have filed an emergency lawsuit on behalf of standout Texas football player Louis Moore, seeking to stop the NCAA from enforcing its restrictive “Five-Year Rule” and to preserve Moore’s ability to compete in the 2025–26 season for Indiana University.

Moore, a Mesquite native and former Poteet High School star, is regarded as one of the nation’s top defensive backs. After three years at Navarro Junior College, he went on to play Division I football at Indiana and the University of Mississippi. Under NCAA rules, athletes are limited to four seasons of competition within five calendar years, and time spent at a junior college counts toward that limit. The NCAA has denied Indiana’s request to waive the rule for Moore, despite recent federal court rulings in similar cases finding the rule unlawful when applied to junior college athletes.

If enforced, the NCAA’s decision would not only end Moore’s college playing career but also strip him of a pending Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) agreement worth approximately $400,000. The lawsuit, filed in Dallas County District Court, alleges that the NCAA’s actions violate the Texas Free Enterprise and Antitrust Act and seeks immediate injunctive relief to allow Moore to join Indiana’s team when its season begins on August 25, 2025.

“Our client has earned the right to finish his college career on the field, not on the sidelines,” said Michael Lyons, co-founder of Lyons & Simmons. “The NCAA’s rigid application of this rule is both unfair and unlawful, depriving athletes of opportunities they have worked for their entire lives. We’re committed to fighting for Louis and for fairness in college athletics.”

The lawsuit also challenges the NCAA’s “Rule of Restitution,” which can punish schools and athletes who play under a valid court order if that order is later overturned—a policy courts have previously found improper in similar contexts.

Michael Lyons has a proven record of representing clients in high-profile sports law, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death cases nationwide.