Sources: Derrian Ford will return to Temple after being granted fifth year of eligibility
Ford, Temple's leading scorer last season, was among a group of athletes who challenged a Louisiana court for a fifth season of eligibility. He is expected to play the 2026-27 season for the Owls.
Temple’s leading scorer from last season, Derrian Ford, has been practicing with the team and is on track to play for the Owls in the 2026-27 men’s basketball season after a recent court ruling in Louisiana paved the way for a fifth season of eligibility, sources told The Inquirer.
Ford, a guard who transferred to Temple from Arkansas State prior to the 2025-26 season, averaged 18.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in 35.6 minutes last season with the Owls.
The Arkansas native was among a group of athletes who challenged in a Louisiana court the NCAA’s newly adopted rule that will grant five full years of eligibility to college athletes moving forward but did not include the high school class of 2022 who had already completed four seasons. The court ruled in their favor, granting them a temporary restraining order against the NCAA.
Ford did not sign a professional contract, unlike football players Zxavian Harris and Dae’Quan Wright, a tight end who spent part of training camp with the Eagles. Harris and Wright’s attempts to join the roster at LSU have been at the center of the latest legal and ethical issues in college athletics. A Louisiana judge issued a preliminary injunction last week that appeared to make the players eligible to join the LSU football team, but the school is proceeding without adding them, a move that came after LSU’s conference, the SEC, threatened to hold a vote to expel the school from the conference.
Ford is unlikely to face the same type of legal hurdles in order to play in 2026-27. Other members of the Louisiana case have already made their first appearances after the ruling. Jazmin Ferguson and Jocelyn Ollivierre, two LSU soccer players, have made three appearances with their team so far this season. Ferguson, according to the Business Journal, testified in court recently that she was paid $4,500 by a USL team but returned the money when playing again at LSU became a possibility.
Ford had interest from professional teams, according to sources, but did not sign a contract.
He is not the only Big 5 men’s basketball player who successfully challenged in court for an additional season. Villanova center Duke Brennan was part of a lawsuit in California that ended with him and others receiving additional eligibility. Brennan will play his final college season at Oklahoma.
» READ MORE: Pat McQuaide is Villanova’s starting quarterback — for now. Here’s a look at the legal fight over his eligibility.
As of Thursday afternoon, Ford was not one of the 14 players listed on Temple’s official roster on the school’s athletics website. The Owls return a few players from the 2025-26 season, most notably Gavin Griffiths, who averaged 10.1 points. Coach Adam Fisher retooled the roster in the transfer portal, and while the Owls made some key additions, none of them may have the impact that Ford’s return will.
Temple has not yet announced its 2026-27 schedule, but the college basketball season begins in early November.
