Settlement on eligibility of Elder's Andrew Lyman to be announced

Parties representing Elder senior Andrew Lyman and the Ohio High School Athletic Association have reached a settlement agreement about his eligibility for the remainder of the 2026 high school football season after a dispute over his transfer to Elder. Details of the settlement have not been announced as of 11 a.m. Oct. 8 but are expected to be released later in the day.

A Hamilton County Common Pleas Court preliminary injunction hearing about the dispute scheduled for the morning of Oct. 8 was canceled after the agreement.

Steve Goodin, the Lymans’ attorney in the case, told the Enquirer he could not release details until judges and all parties signed off on the agreement, but said the family was happy with the settlement. Elder Athletic Director Kevin Espelage also told the Enquirer that the school would release information when the legal details became official.

Lyman transferred to Elder from Kings before the 2026 season after playing three seasons for Kings, including an outstanding junior season in 2025 with 45 catches for 838 yards and seven touchdowns. He was ruled ineligible by the OHSAA for the remainder of the 2026 season after the first five games via an OHSAA transfer bylaw which says that a transfer student in football becomes ineligible in a varsity contest starting in Week 6 of the season.

There are 12 exceptions to the bylaw, and a player must meet one of them to be eligible for an entire season. The OHSAA ruled that Lyman did not meet any of them. His family appealed to the OHSAA and was denied.

Lyman was issued a temporary restraining order which allowed him to play against Greater Catholic League-South rivals St. Xavier and Moeller in Weeks 6 and 7. The order was to be ruled on at the Oct. 8 hearing.

Lyman has 37 receptions for 603 yards and nine touchdowns in six games for the Panthers. The Ball State commit is a key target in the offense for Elder, which is 5-2 and hopes to contend for a Division I state championship.

In a statement Sept. 24, OHSAA spokesman Tim Stried addressed the ruling against Lyman and did not disclose any details about the case.

"The OHSAA appreciates Elder's cooperation throughout this process, but the facts presented in this case did not lead the OHSAA to apply one of the exceptions to the transfer bylaw consequence, therefore the student-athlete is ineligible beginning with Week 6 of the football season. The family brought the case to the independent OHSAA appeals panel, which also denied the transfer request." 

This story will be updated

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Settlement on eligibility of Elder's Andrew Lyman to be announced