The NCAA has rejected a waiver request for 27-year-old DeAndre Williams to extend his eligibility for another season with Memphis basketball. Williams, who held the title of the oldest player in Division I last season, sought a sixth year of eligibility.

“We are extremely disappointed a waiver for an additional year of eligibility for DeAndre Williams was denied, which came following a request for reconsideration of the initial denial and then an appeal,” Memphis athletics said in a statement Friday.

DeAndre Williams pursued a sixth-year eligibility after a year-in-residence, during which he sat out his freshman season at Evansville in 2018-19, as reported by the Associated Press.

“We felt the evidence about academic misadvisement prior to his initial collegiate enrollment that was uncovered and provided to the NCAA was sufficient to grant this waiver, and we also strongly believed the depth of additional information shared with the NCAA on an ongoing basis would be on DeAndre’s side,” the Memphis athletics statement continued. 

“Unfortunately, after multiple months of back-and-forth, the NCAA arrived at a different conclusion. We appreciate DeAndre’s contributions to our men’s basketball program over the past two-and-a-half years, and he will always be a Memphis Tiger. Nevertheless, we are very much looking forward to an exciting season on the court for our men’s basketball team.”