As ancestral collegiate rivals, the University of Arkansas and the University of Mississippi rarely find common ground, let alone work on behalf of the other. However, it appears Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss is prepared to let bygones be bygones.
The Rebels’ signal caller recently came to loggerheads with the NCAA over the governing body’s Jan. 9 denial of Chambliss’ petition for a sixth year of eligibility. Chambliss claimed he was owed another year due to sitting out the 2022 season while at Div. II Ferris State due to respiratory issues and therefore entitled to another season under the rules.
NCAA regulations allow that a waiver may be granted in cases where a player misses a year due to “incapacitating injury or illness.” However, the application was denied on the grounds that Chambliss didn’t provide sufficient documentation to support his medical condition as the reason for his sitting out.
Ole Miss’s athletic director is on record saying the university would appeal the decision, but Chambliss has apparently decided to play hardball by suing the NCAA over the matter.
His attorney? None other than Arkansas-based pitbull Tom Mars, a one-man legal dream team based in northwest Arkansas, who is no stranger to getting the best of the NCAA.
Mars has made a living off the governing body’s repeated failure to apply its ruling consistently. In a statement to the press, he hinted he was more than willing to see the NCAA in court if that’s what it comes to to get Chambliss on the field for the 2026 season.
“I understand that Ole Miss will file an appeal with the NCAA. However, there’s now an opportunity to move this case to a level playing field where Trinidad’s rights will be determined by the Mississippi judiciary instead of some bureaucrats in Indianapolis who couldn’t care less about the law or doing the right thing,” Mars said. “Whether to pursue that course of action is a decision only Trinidad and his parents can make.”
Known as the preeminent legal mind in sports, Mars successfully represented quarterback Justin Fields in 2018 when he was transferring from Georgia and seeking immediate eligibility at Ohio State. He also represented former Ole Miss quarterback Shea Patterson, who filed a waiver request in 2018 to play at Michigan.
Ole Miss fans no doubt remember Mars for his representation of former Arkansas and Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt in his defamation lawsuit against the latter university. Mars not only won that case, but in the process, uncovered then-Rebs’ head coach Hugh Freeze’s frequent calling of an escort service that led to his dismissal.
Should he win and gain Chambliss another year, Mars will be even more beloved in Oxford than when he got Freeze fired, paving the way for Lane Kiffin, who coached the Rebels into national contenders. Chambliss notched 3,016 passing yards and 470 rushing yards in 12 games for the Rebels last season, achieving an 11-1 regular season record and averaging a gaudy 349 total yards per game, 300 yards per game in SEC play. The star also led Ole Miss to an upset of Georgia in the College Football Playoff before losing in the semifinals to Miami.
Feature image: Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss, middle, was swallowed up by the Arkansas defense on this play last September in Oxford. (Photo courtesy of Arkansas Athletics)
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