Chris Bellamy, former Diego Pavia teammate, files NCAA lawsuit seeking Vanderbilt eligibility

Chris Bellamy, a former teammate of Diego Pavia's at New Mexico State who is hoping to play for Vanderbilt football in 2025, is one of four plaintiffs in a new lawsuit filed against the NCAA, according to court documents accessed by The Tennessean on July 7.

Bellamy is seeking additional NCAA eligibility after starting his career at a junior college.

In December, Pavia received an injunction from a Tennessee court granting him an extra year of eligibility after a judge ruled that the NCAA policy preventing Pavia from playing in 2025 because of his two years at a junior college violated the Sherman Antitrust Act.

The NCAA vowed to appeal the ruling in Pavia's case, and in the meantime, it issued a blanket waiver for an extra year of eligibility for certain former junior college players. However, this ruling only applied to players within their "five-year clock," which is a rule stating that NCAA athletes must complete their four years of eligibility within five years of first enrolling at any college.

Bellamy began his college career in 2019 and played for three seasons at two different junior colleges, thus he was not eligible for this blanket waiver.

Bellamy, along with his co-plaintiffs Demarcus Griffin, TJ Smith and Targhee Lambson, are seeking an injunction that would prevent the NCAA from enforcing the five-year clock for former junior college athletes as well as a rule that holds former juco athletes to a maximum of three years of NCAA eligibility.

The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court, Middle District of Tennessee, the same court in which Pavia's lawsuit was filed.

According to the court documents, Bellamy enrolled at Vanderbilt in May and the school sought a waiver on his behalf, but that waiver was denied in June. He started working out with the football team in May, but once his waiver was denied, the coaching staff told him he could not work out with the program unless he got a court ruling in his favor. The documents state that Vanderbilt has held a roster spot for Bellamy should he receive such a ruling.

Bellamy is not listed on the Commodores' online roster for 2025. In his most recent season at New Mexico State in 2023, he caught 18 passes for 282 yards and one touchdown.

Another plaintiff in the case, Lambson, was a former running back at Southern Utah. The court filings say that Lambson is interested in playing for Vanderbilt as well, but the Commodores will not proceed unless they know he is eligible. Unlike Bellamy, Lambson has not enrolled in the school, according to the court documents.

Two similar lawsuits were filed in the winter by SEC baseball players: one by former Georgia baseball player Dylan Goldstein, and another by former North Carolina player Alberto Osuna, who hoped to transfer to Tennessee. Both players also sought relief from the five-year clock for former junior college players, but both players had their injunctions denied and did not play in 2025.Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected] or on X @aria_gerson.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Chris Bellamy, former teammate of Diego Pavia, files NCAA lawsuit