Judge’s deliberation on ruling could leave Carter Loflin out of playing for Georgia

Thirteen days after Carter Loflin played on national TV in the U.S. Amateur semifinals, he took the stand in an Athens courtroom on Friday morning trying to gain another season of eligibility to return to the Georgia golf team after filing a lawsuit against the NCAA.

Attorneys for Loflin and the NCAA made their cases before Western Circuit Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard.

Loflin is seeking a temporary restraining order that would allow him to return for the Bulldogs, which open their season Monday in a tournament in Knoxville, Tenn.

That roster needs to be set by Sunday, Aug. 30, his attorney, Nik Erramilli, told the judge.

Haggard did not issue a ruling on Friday and told the attorneys, "I don't want anybody to expect a ruling by Aug. 30."

He said the case wasn't assigned to him until Tuesday and the NCAA's response to the lawsuit didn't come until Thursday night which he had only perused.

"I'm more interested in a ruling that follows the law and there's a lot of law here that I need to be comfortable with," Haggard said. "A lot is still happening in other jurisdictions that I will look at."

Erramilli told the Athens Banner-Herald he will be "fighting to have something done sooner."

In questioning by Haggard, Loflin said he thought he would still be able to go back on the roster after Aug. 30 if a court ruled in his favor.

Loflin, No. 36 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, completed his fourth season with Georgia golf in late May, but the NCAA approved a new age-based eligibility model weeks later that allowed athletes to play five seasons in five years.

Loflin and others like him who graduated from high school in 2022 were not included.

So Loflin went to court like athletes in other states have to seek a chance to continue to play.

"Carter is a University of Georgia student who has been unfairly discriminated against by bylaws that took effect Aug. 1," Erramilli, told the judge by video conference.

NCAA attorney Doug Minor told the judge later: "When his career ended, his eligiblity ended. He's making a claim that the NCAA has breached an agreement that it never was a party to."

Minor said Loflin expected to get five years to play four seasons.

Loflin, who is still enrolled at Georgia in the Terry College of Business, said he's been back with the Georgia team for about two weeks and already took part with the team in qualifying for its upcoming tournament.

He said that came after a Colorado district judge's preliminary injunction gave eligibility to 2022 athletes, but the NCAA was granted a stay in that ruling.

"The tide has turned," Minor said. "Several of the most recent pronouncements…support the NCAA's position."

Erramilli mentioned court rulings against the NCAA in Ohio, Tennessee, New Jersey and Louisiana.

He said Loflin's case is similar to Godfrey vs. the NCAA in Cobb County Superior Court with former Georgia and Clemson basketball player R.J. Godfrey as a plaintiff. Minor noted that case is still ongoing.

Former Georgia safety JaCorey Thomas is among football players grated a TRO in Dallas on Thursday, making him eligible to play and enter the transfer portal for now.

Erramilli said no incoming Georgia player would lose a roster spot by Loflin being on the team this season and by not playing it would hurt his ability to become automatically exempt into some pro tours based on rising in the amateur rankings.

Minor said a decision against the NCAA would cause "extreme harm," by high school students losing opportunities and the distribution of NIL payments.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Judge’s deliberation on ruling could leave Carter Loflin out of playing for Georgia