Villanova quarterback Pat McQuaide allowed to suit up after court ruling
The graduate student got the start for the Wildcats in their season opener on Friday night.
After a summer of uncertainty around Villanova quarterback Pat McQuaide’s eligibility, he was granted a preliminary injunction that allowed him to start the Wildcats’ season opener on Friday night.
On Friday, Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Common Pleas Court judge Timothy McCormick granted a preliminary injunction that named the Patriot League as a defendant, clearing McQuaide to be eligible for league contests, McQuaide’s attorney, Richard Hamilton Jr., confirmed to The Inquirer.
McQuaide started for Villanova in its season opener against William & Mary on Friday hours after the injunction was granted. He initially was deemed ineligible by the Patriot League, despite having an injunction granting him another year of eligibility on Aug. 4. The conference then rejected an eligibility appeal from Villanova on behalf of McQuaide on Aug. 22.
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Friday’s preliminary injunction is the result of a separate legal battle between McQuaide and the Patriot League.
Without Friday’s ruling, Villanova would have been forced to forfeit any game McQuaide played in, according to Hamilton.
The question around McQuaide’s eligibility pertains to his season at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in 2022. In the original waiver request to the NCAA, Villanova argued that the COVID-19 pandemic directly led to the quarterback’s season with the junior college. Villanova described the move to a JUCO as a “necessary bridge rather than a choice to ‘use’ an additional season.” McQuaide contends that the pandemic stunted his development in high school, after which he walked on at Kent State. After one year redshirting with the Golden Flashes, he transferred to Mississippi Gulf Coast before two seasons at Nicholls State.
Historically, JUCO seasons have been counted against players’ eligibility.
McQuaide threw for 3,123 yards and 25 touchdowns last season to guide Villanova to an FCS semifinal appearance.
