Once again, Bevo will not be making the trip to Atlanta, as the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl announced Monday that there is not enough room on the sideline in Mercedes Benz-Stadium for the Texas Longhorns mascot.

Earlier this month, Bevo was not allowed to travel to the SEC championship game, at the same venue, for the same reason. Texas faces Arizona State in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal Jan. 1.

pic.twitter.com/ZFFS6qO1QO

— Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (@CFAPeachBowl) December 23, 2024

The Peach Bowl said in a statement, “We love all of the great traditions of college football and no doubt, Bevo is one of the best, but the unfortunate reality is there is simply not enough room on the sidelines of Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“With the constraints of the stadium and prioritizing the safety of Bevo, the players, all the network cameras, support staff, cheerleaders, and photographers, we unfortunately will not be able to have Bevo on the field.”

The 1,700-pound Bevo XV, with a horn span of 58 inches, would need a significantly sized enclosure to fit securely on the sideline. Bevo made the trip to the 2019 Sugar Bowl, where he famously came charging out of his pen toward Georgia mascot Uga.

The NCAA Division I Board of Directors on Monday approved a blanket waiver granting an additional year of eligibility to former junior college transfers in similar positions to Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, opening the door for a wave of college athletes across all sports to spend one more year in college athletics.

According to an NCAA memo, the waiver extends an extra year of eligibility in 2025-26 to athletes who previously “competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years” and otherwise would have exhausted their NCAA eligibility following the 2024-25 season.

The decision from the NCAA comes five days after a federal judge in Tennessee granted an injunction to allow Pavia, a former junior college transfer who played his first season at Vanderbilt in 2024, to pursue an additional year of college eligibility next fall.

In its memo announcing the waiver, the NCAA also announced that it has filed a notice of appeal to the ruling in Pavia’s case.

Pavia sued the NCAA in November over its eligibility standards, arguing that the organization’s rule of counting a player’s junior college years against his overall NCAA eligibility violates antitrust laws by restricting an athlete’s ability to profit from their name, image, and likeness.

Last week’s injunction applied solely to Pavia and would have prevented the NCAA from barring the Vanderbilt quarterback from returning next fall. However, Monday’s ruling from the NCAA will now allow other athletes in similar situations — former junior college players who would have been out of eligibility following this season — to return for an additional year in 2025-26.

The waiver does not extend to all junior college athletes, only those who would have completed their NCAA eligibility this year.

Pavia’s lawsuit and the subsequent injunction have potentially paved the way for hundreds of former junior college athletes to gain an additional year of eligibility in 2025-26.

Pavia completed 59.2% of his passes for 2,133 yards and 17 touchdowns to four interceptions while leading Vanderbilt to a 6-6 finish in 2024. He joined the Commodores following two seasons at New Mexico State after beginning his college career at New Mexico Military Institute, a two-year junior college.

Under NCAA rules, athletes are typically given five years to play four seasons. Among the arguments in Pavia’s lawsuit is that the NCAA unfairly counted his time in junior college — played outside the purview of the organization — against his NCAA eligibility, and in turn limited his ability to earn money off of his name, image and likeness.

Under the new waiver, Pavia will be granted a sixth year of NCAA eligibility next fall.

Florida State wide receiver Malik Benson thought he’d used his final year of eligibility after playing for the Seminoles in 2024, Alabama in 2023 and the prior two seasons at Hutchinson Community College. He told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Monday that he plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal in the wake of the ruling and feels blessed to have an opportunity to play one more year.

Benson and his agent had been in touch with attorney Darren Heitner, who works in the college sports space, about filing for an extra year. They had a 28-page complaint prepared, but never had to file it.

“I’m just glad that the Lord blessed me with another opportunity and another year,” Benson told Thamel. “I will not take this for granted.”

Benson is expected to be one of many who either return to school or enter the portal to take advantage of the ruling.

News surrounding the NCAA waiver and Pavia’s lawsuit comes days before Vanderbilt takes part in its first bowl game since 2018. Pavia and the Commodores will meet Georgia Tech in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 27 (3:30 p.m., ESPN).

Former Purdue tight end Max Klare has committed to Ohio State, he told ESPN. He’s the No. 1 tight end in the NCAA transfer portal in ESPN’s rankings.

Klare is a redshirt sophomore who will have two years of eligibility remaining. He emerged as one of the country’s most productive tight ends in 2024, hauling in 51 passes for 685 yards and four receiving touchdowns. Each of those numbers led the Boilermakers.

He pointed to coach Ryan Day’s history of developing players and the plan laid out to him by offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and tight ends coach Keenan Bailey as playing a big role in his decision.

“Really, when it came down to making the decision, Coach Day’s ability to develop players and send them off to the NFL, the developmental process for me was huge,” Klare told ESPN.

He added that the program’s annual high ceiling also played into the decision.

“Just an opportunity to win a national championship and develop into a better player and play against the best competition, day in and day out,” Klare said, “and being around a lot of likeminded individuals that are going to push me to be my best.”

ESPN’s No. 20 overall player in this transfer portal class, he chose Ohio State over strong interest from Texas, Michigan, Louisville and Texas A&M.

Klare’s commitment continues a strong week for Ohio State, which advanced in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday night with a blowout win over Tennessee. Ohio State announced earlier Monday that it added West Virginia transfer tailback C.J. Donaldson, who has 2,058 career rushing yards and 31 touchdowns. The Buckeyes also got commitments Monday from former Idaho State defensive end Logan George and former Minnesota offensive tackle Phillip Daniels.

Ohio State prioritized Klare as a portal target after seeing the Big Ten production and the potential in his 6-foot-4, 240-pound frame.

Klare hails from Guilford, Indiana, on the outskirts of Cincinnati. He attended Cincinnati’s St. Xavier High School, the powerhouse program that has produced numerous notable players including Luke Kuechly and coaches such as Tom O’Brien.

Klare noted that it’s only about an hour and 40 minute drive for his family to see him play.

“I played high school football in Ohio,” he said. “Coming back to Ohio and playing college football there was really cool for me to be able to do that and stay close to the family.”

Klare redshirted at Purdue in 2022, appearing in just one game. He played in five games in 2023, making four starts before an injury cut his season short. He had 22 catches for 196 yards in 2023 in that stint.

He broke out in 2024, finishing No. 6 nationally among tight ends in receiving yards and catching 33 passes that were converted into first downs.

He said he is looking forward to going up against star Ohio State safety Caleb Downs in practice every day. Downs will be one of the top defensive players in college football in 2025.

“Playing against him every day and then going out and playing on Saturday makes it a lot easier in terms of the preparation part,” he said. “Being able to go against the best every day is huge for your development.”

Klare said he came away impressed by the staff and the plan they laid out for him.

“There was a great connection with Coach [Bailey],” he said. “We see a lot of things the same way. He’s a hungry coach who is going to push me to be my best and get everything out of me.”

ESPN’s Max Olson contributed reporting.