who reached the U.S. Amateur semifinals this month, is seeking to return to play for this season by trying to gain an extra year of eligibility.
Loflin filed a lawsuit against the NCAA seeking a temporary restraining order in Superior Court in Athens-Clarke County on Monday, Aug. 24, his attorney Nik Erramilli told the Athens Banner-Herald.
Georgia golf has a spot on its roster available for Loflin if a court ruling makes him eligible to play, according to Erramilli.
“It’s a restraint of trade,” Erramilli told the Athens Banner-Herald. “It’s an unfair restrain of his right to access the marketplace, which is prohibited in Georgia.”
Loflin, from Duluth, played the past four seasons for the Bulldogs after graduating from St. Pius in 2022. He won two tournaments for the Bulldogs last year and led the team with six top-10 finishes.
The NCAA instituted a new 5-for-5 eligibility model but is not allowing class of 2022 athletes to play a fifth season in five years.
That has brought a flurry of lawsuits including in a District Court in Colorado which granted a preliminary injunction for 2022 athletes to return for a fifth season. The NCAA won an appeal that stayed the injunction.
“The 2018, 19, 20 and 21 classes all got COVID waivers,” Erramilli said. “They all got a fifth year and a sixth year at times. This 5-for-5 rule, the NCAA is saying if you came into college in 2023 and began competing you are eligible for it. For some arbitrary reason, just this class is for some reason is just not allowed.”
An extra year of college golf would open more doors in the golf world for Loflin, Erramilli said.
The complaint states that the NCAA “unjustifiably restrains his ability to earn money through use of his name, image and likeness.” It says reaching the US Am semifinals provided him more exposure which could lead to greater earning potential and a chance to be ranked higher.
Erramilli said Loflin is also seeking an injunction against an NCAA rule that would penalize Loflin and UGA if a TRO or injunction gets reversed.
Georgia golf, whose team added 2025 US Amateur champion and
