BATON ROUGE — Attorney General Liz Murrill announced on Friday that Louisiana is attempting to join lawsuits the NCAA filed against running back Zachary Palmer-Smith and defensive end Kevonte Wells, who are seeking to play a fifth year of football at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Murrill is asking a state court in Ouachita Parish to allow the state to intervene as an additional party in the lawsuits, arguing that the program's refusal to allow the athletes to play this season will have a negative impact on Louisiana and its public higher education institutions.

The attorney general previously played a role in a lawsuit regarding SEC regulations about who is eligible to compete in college athletics.

"This system should not and cannot be 'heads NCAA wins, tails athletes and their universities lose.' Louisiana law imposes an obligation of good faith in the performance of contractual relationships – that duty runs between the universities and their student athletes as well as between the NCAA and its members," Attorney General Liz Murrill said. 

Wells previously attempted to pursue a waiver from the NCAA in January but was advised by a compliance officer that he did not meet requirements according to the lawsuit. 

In April, the Division I Board of Directors directed the Division I Cabinet to propose an age-based five-year model, which was later adopted in June. The adopted rule permits athletes to play for up to five seasons when an athlete enrolls by the academic year after turning 19, eliminating traditional reshirt, hardship, and sport-specific season rules. 

"The resulting struggle between words and actions threatens all Louisiana public universities, its 2022 student athletes, and resources available in the future for student athletes attending these schools now and in the coming years. The State seeks intervention now to put a stop to that very real threat. "

Murrill argued that the NCAA's ever-changing rules can lead to students like Palmer-Smith and Wells losing financial opportunities and other non-compensable opportunities. 

"They affect the universities that recruit them, the student athletes with whom they compete, coaches and administrators responsible for complying with an increasingly complicated set of rules, and, ultimately, they impact state university budgets, public funds, and extensive third-party contractual relationships."

It is further argued that athletes and institutions are entitled to enforcement of and adherence to state law, which controls the NCAA's rules.