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Judge denies Dean Miller’s request for additional year of eligibility at UCF
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- Judge denies Dean Miller’s request for additional year of eligibility at UCF
(Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/TNS)
An Orange County Ninth Circuit Court Judge has denied former Kansas defensive end Dean Miller 's request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the NCAA. Miller, who sought an additional year of eligibility, hoped to play for UCF this season.
In his ruling, Circuit Judge Diego M. Madrigal III stated that while the opportunity to play at UCF would present "a once in a lifetime opportunity for Dean Miller" and he has secured financial compensation that would help him, his family and community, the court must apply the letter of the law and deny the request.
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"Writing on a blank slate, the Court would not deprive Miller of this opportunity," Judge Madrigal said in his order posted to the Orange County Clerk of Records on Tuesday. "However, the Court does not write on a blank slate. The Court's proper role is to fairly and impartially apply the law that controls this situation. In applying the law, there can be only one result. The Court must deny Miller's request for a temporary injunction."
Miller sought an injunction similar to the one former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia received, challenging eligibility rules that count seasons played at a junior college against a player's four years of eligibility at a Division I school.
The 6-foot-5, 240-pound Miller had entered the transfer portal after last season and hoped to transfer to UCF.
The NCAA denied his initial request on April 28, arguing that its blanket waiver applied to junior college transfers in December 2024 and that only a few athletes exhausted their eligibility during the 2024-25 academic year. The organization claimed that since Miller played in 2025-26, he's not eligible for a waiver.
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Miller began his career at the College of the Canyons, a junior college in Santa Clarita, Calif., in 2021. He enrolled at Arkansas in 2022 before transferring to Kansas in 2023, where he appeared in 36 games, totaling 65 tackles, including 13.5 for a loss with seven sacks for the Jayhawks.
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According to the lawsuit he filed on June 22, Miller claimed that the NCAA's decision to initially deny him an additional year of eligibility has caused "immediate, severe, and irreparable consequences," primarily that UCF was prepared to offer him a $300,000 contract contingent on his receiving eligibility. That deal consisted of $200,000 as part of an NIL agreement and an additional $100,000 in NIL compensation from a third-party source.
Miller's lawyer, Florida attorney Darren Heitner, cited several cases where football players received a temporary injunction against the NCAA, including Clemson receiver Tristan Smith.
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Judge Madrigal went on to write, "The Court realizes that its decision in this case when contrasted with other courts of similar jurisdictions in other states leaves Miller with an unequal result to his peers. However, there is only one entity that can remedy that and ensure that all student athletes who are similarly situated are treated the same. The NCAA, as a private organization that promulgates and enforces its own rules, is the one that can ensure that all student-athletes and schools compete with the same rules and grant the same opportunities to young men and women regardless of which state they reside in and which judicial officer they appear in front of.
"However, on this record, in this state, and under the law that binds this Court, the Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction must be denied."
UCF coach Scott Frost wouldn't specifically address Miller's status when asked earlier this month.
"I don't waste a lot of time thinking about it until it happens because I just can't follow the bouncing ball enough to know how some of those things are going to go," Frost said recently. "If we have an opportunity to add anybody that could give us an upgrade or depth or anything to make our team better, we intentionally kept a few spots open, and we'll continue to look for ways to make the team better."
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Miller is not currently enrolled at UCF.
Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram at @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com . Sign up for the Sentinel's Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.
