Sterling Webb asked a court Tuesday to stop the University of Missouri and the UM System Board of Curators from keeping him off the field, filing a new temporary restraining order in St. Louis County Court as Mizzou Football heads into game week. The hearing is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday before Judge Ellen Ribaudo.
The filing seeks the same protection Webb won in July against the NCAA, when a court allowed him to return to the Tigers this year for a fifth season of eligibility. This time, though, he is asking the same court to order the university he wants to play for not to declare him ineligible, not to refuse to certify him, and not to withhold any revenue-sharing or NIL compensation tied to the 2026-2027 academic year. It also would bar the university from holding him out of practice, competition, team travel or any other intercollegiate athletics activity.
That puts Webb in an unusual position even for a sport that has spent the past year in court. He is listed on Mizzou's depth chart and is expected to play a prominent role along the Tigers' defensive line, but the legal fight now runs directly through the program he is trying to join on the field. The latest request asks Judge Ellen Ribaudo to enter against the university the same order she entered against the NCAA, a move that would keep Webb available while the case moves forward.
The timing matters because Missouri opens its season against Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 7 p.m. Thursday, leaving little room for a delayed ruling or a long appeal. At the same time, the NCAA has filed a motion to dismiss Webb's original temporary restraining order in its entirety, which means the court is being asked to sort out both the old fight with the national governing body and the new one with the university in front of the same judge, almost at once.
That sequence is what makes the filing stand out: a player who already won one TRO is now asking for another against the school he intends to represent. The Tribune has said it has not seen a player seek injunctive relief against the university they intend to play for, and the NCAA has recently had success overturning TROs in Ohio, Tennessee and at the federal level in Colorado. Wednesday's hearing will show whether Webb keeps his place on the field when Missouri needs him most.
