CINCINNATI — A Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Preliminary Injunction hearing scheduled for Thursday morning involving Elder senior wide receiver Andrew Lyman's eligibility this high school football season has been canceled.
Lyman's family and the Ohio High School Athletic Association have reached an agreement to resolve the case, according to attorney Brian Fox.
In a statement to WCPO, the Ohio High School Athletic Association said Lyman is eligible to play additional games this season.
"The OHSAA and Elder High School administrators will ensure Andrew's eligibility is consistent with the judicial decision, but the OHSAA cannot provide additional information at this time regarding how many additional games will be permitted," the OHSAA said.
OHSAA said Elder is permitted to release additional information about the settlement if they choose to do so.
Lyman was issued a temporary restraining order Sept. 25 which allowed him to play against visiting St. Xavier following the Ohio High School Athletic Association's ruling that he was ineligible to play the rest of the season due to transfer bylaws.
The OHSAA ruled that Lyman did not meet one of the 12 transfer bylaw exceptions.
Lyman was granted the TRO and was eligible to play against St. X Sept. 25 Moeller Oct. 2 at Welcome Stadium.
The OHSAA had no further comment in late September regarding the TRO.
Lyman has 37 receptions for 603 yards and nine touchdowns in seven games for the Panthers.
Elder (5-2) plays at Highlands (6-1) at 7 p.m. Friday. It is the 10th meeting all-time between the programs and the second game of a home-and-home agreement.
Elder coach Doug Ramsey previously told the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown X account he was disappointed with the OHSAA’s ruling.
“We need rules; rules are great,” Ramsey told the Crosstown Showdown. “But when you create exceptions to a rule and a family follows that. What they did — he’s eligible to play. But, can you make it illegal based upon an assumption — something you can’t necessarily prove. If a family makes a decision for their son that they want something different for them. But, he needs a change for whatever reason and you follow the rules — I don’t think it’s the state's place to stop that from happening.”
WCPO 9 Sports received a statement in late September from the OHSAA regarding the situation.
"The OHSAA appreciates Elder's cooperation throughout this process, but the facts presented in this case did not lead the OHSAA to apply one of the exceptions to the transfer bylaw consequence, therefore the student-athlete is ineligible beginning with Week 6 of the football season," OHSAA Director of Media Relations Tim Stried told WCPO 9 Sports in a statement. "The family brought the case to the independent OHSAA appeals panel, which also denied the transfer request."
WATCH: Elder senior wide receiver Andrew Lyman's highlights this season
Lyman was eligible for the first five games this season for the Panthers, who have won 15 consecutive regular-season games. He had 23 receptions for 390 yards and eight touchdowns in four games, according to the Greater Catholic League website.
The OHSAA transfer bylaw states a transfer student becomes ineligible in a varsity contest starting Week 6 in football.
If a student transfers, the individual will be ineligible for the OHSAA tournament and for all contests at all levels once the varsity team completes the first 50% of the maximum allowable varsity regular season games, according to the OHSAA. The rule is only in place for those sports in which the student participated during the 12 months immediately preceding this transfer.
OHSAA member schools have adopted 12 exceptions to the general transfer bylaw. A student-athlete must meet one of those dozen exceptions to be eligible for an entire season.
Ramsey also told the Crosstown Showdown X account there have been dozens of transfers around Greater Cincinnati high school football this season.
“Has anybody else had this?” Ramsey said. “The state looking into it like they’ve looked into this. We can make assumptions about all those guys as well. I don’t know. I just don’t like the way that it’s done. If we recruited them — OK, fine, that’s wrong. If he didn’t meet the requirements, OK, that’s fine. But that’s not the case in this situation. There’s nothing that we at Elder can do. If his family decides to do something, that’s something they’re going to do. At this point, the state ruled that he can’t play the rest of the season. We’ve got guys that will be ready to go.”
In 2025, Lyman was a Division II second-team all-state receiver as a junior at Kings. He had 45 receptions for 838 yards and seven touchdowns for the Knights (9-2 record) in 2025.
Lyman announced May 28 his intention to play his senior year at Elder.
“First off, I want to say thank you to Kings football for the best 3 years I could ask for,” he wrote on X. “Kings football made me who I am today and I will forever be grateful for that. Thank you to the Kings community for the countless support and making Friday nights truly something special. With that being said, after long conversations with my family I have decided I will play my senior year at Elder High School. Go Panthers!”
The OHSAA football postseason starts Oct. 30.
