Former Saint Louis University center Robbie Avila filed a petition Thursday morning in St. Louis City Circuit Court seeking emergency relief that would restore a fifth year of NCAA eligibility and allow him to return to the Billikens for the 2026-27 season.
The filing comes three weeks after an Illinois circuit judge dismissed Avila’s earlier case against the NCAA for lack of personal jurisdiction. That suit had been heard in Cook County, where Avila is from. By moving the action to the 22nd Judicial Circuit in the city where he last played and where he has re-enrolled, Avila’s attorneys are trying a new venue after the Chicago court declined to take the case on jurisdictional grounds.
According to language in the petition reported Thursday, Avila is asking for “narrow relief from the NCAA’s roster limitations so that he can play for SLU during the 2026-27 season.” The filing states that Saint Louis wants him on the roster and that he wants to play for the Billikens. The only remaining barrier, the petition argues, is what it calls the NCAA’s “arbitrary and unlawful refusal to grant Avila eligibility.”
Avila, a 6-foot-10 center from Oak Forest, Illinois, was Atlantic 10 Player of the Year last season after averaging 12.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists while shooting 41 percent from three-point range. He helped Saint Louis to a program-record 29 wins, a share of the A-10 regular-season title and an NCAA Tournament appearance. He followed head coach Josh Schertz from Indiana State to SLU in 2024 and finished his four-year college career with nearly 2,000 points.
After going undrafted in June, Avila signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Los Angeles Lakers and appeared in Summer League. He later enrolled in SLU’s School for Professional Studies, a step that kept him registered as a student should eligibility be restored.
The legal fight is part of a broader wave of cases involving high school Class of 2022 athletes who exhausted four seasons in 2025-26 and have sought a fifth year after a federal ruling in Colorado. The NCAA has resisted applying that extra season uniformly and is expected to continue appealing related injunctions. A later clarification from the Colorado court also indicated that players granted extra eligibility generally would have to return to their previous school rather than enter the transfer portal.
Even if a St. Louis judge grants the requested relief, roster mechanics remain an issue. Saint Louis is at the current 15-scholarship limit. Adding Avila would require either a waiver of NCAA roster caps — which the petition specifically seeks — or another scholarship player leaving the program.
Practice and the start of the regular season are approaching. An emergency petition is designed to put the question in front of a local judge on a compressed timeline. No hearing date had been publicly announced as of Thursday afternoon.
Avila’s case now sits in the same city where he became one of the most recognizable players in recent Billikens history. Whether the new venue produces a different result than Chicago will determine if Chaifetz Arena sees the glasses, the passing, and the post game for one more season.
