EUGENE — N’Faly Dante’s college career is all but officially over.

The NCAA denied a hardship waiver filed by the former Oregon center, who was seeking an additional year of eligibility due to his torn ACL during the 2020-21 season when eligibility clocks were paused, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. UO, which filed for the hardship waiver in early April, will appeal the decision and Dante could pursue a legal injunction as well, the source said.

But time is of the essence for Dante, who participated in the NBA draft combine earlier this month. The 6-foot-10 center has until June 16 to withdraw from this year’s NBA draft.

Dante, who averaged 17 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks last season, played in six of Oregon’s 28 games in 2020-21 before a season-ending torn left ACL.

To be granted a medical hardship waiver, colloquially referred to as a medical redshirt, a player cannot participate in more than 30% of their team’s games in a given season. Had Dante’s injury occurred six games into any other season, he would be granted a medical hardship waiver and Oregon argued he should be afforded the same result even though the NCAA paused eligibility clocks in 2020-21.

He played 12 games in 2019-20 due in part to not being granted initial eligibility until midway through the season, then missed nine games due to a knee injury, and has played in 103 of Oregon’s 166 games over his five seasons.

The waiver request was believed to be unprecedented, with no known case of a player being granted additional eligibility under any circumstance during the season amid the pandemic.