NEWS RELEASE
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 25, 2025
 
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner University filed a temporary restraining order in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama Northern Division Friday.  The TRO is filed against the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Faulkner University filed the TRO in an effort to prevent the SSAC from seeding its conference baseball tournament while the NAIA's National Coordinating Committee reviews an appeal from Faulkner University.
 
The issue in question stems from Faulkner University unknowingly allowing an ineligible player to participate in 39 baseball contests during the 2025 season. Upon learning of the player's lack of eligibility, Faulkner University self-reported the violation to the NAIA on April 17, 2025. Despite the NAIA's 2024-25 handbook including Article VI – Section B (9), which expressly prohibits the requirement of contest forfeiture under particular circumstances, the NAIA ruled Saturday, April 19, that Faulkner University baseball was to forfeit all 39 contests in which the referenced student-athlete participated.
 
Article VI – Section B (9) indicates that "Forfeits shall not be required nor will an institution be subject to any penalties if a student who has been properly certified as eligible represents an institution in competition but is subsequently determined to have been ineligible due to any of the following:

a) a mistake by the NAIA Eligibility Center;
b) False information was supplied by the student, or
c) False information was supplied on the student's behalf."

Faulkner University maintains that its actions in this circumstance are consistent with the exemptions to forfeiture outlined in Article VI – Section B (9) and has filed an appeal with sufficient evidence to support that stance. As the NAIA NCC reviews that appeal, the SSAC is tasked with seeding its conference baseball tournament in view of an anticipated start date of April 30 in Jackson, Tenn. Faulkner University's TRO is intended to delay that process sufficient to allow the NAIA NCC to properly review the supplied material evidence of its claims.
 
Faulkner University appreciates the Southern States Athletic Conference and its patience and support during this process. No further comments are available at this time as this is a pending legal matter.