NCAA Considers Five-Year Eligibility Rule, Ending Redshirts

The NCAA is potentially implementing sweeping changes to its eligibility rules for college athletes—a direct outcome of a recent executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump regarding college sports.

According to multiple reports, the governing body is considering changes that would include:

• Creating a five-year window of eligibility for all college athletes, beginning from their 19th birthday or their high school graduation, whichever comes first.
• Eliminating many existing exceptions to athletic eligibility, including redshirts and waivers, and leaving the five-year rule in place except for select situations such as maternity leave or military service. Medical- and injury-related redshirts would also end. 

The provisions are set to be discussed next week by the NCAA’s Division I cabinet, but a formal vote is not expected then. The overall thrust, however, largely mirrors the Trump order from April 3, which aims to create a simpler and more stable framework for competition. 

Current NCAA rules allow for four years of eligibility over a five-year period, but the use of redshirts and waivers has been widespread to gain extra years of eligibility—to the point where some college athletes have sought a ninth year in college. The introduction and escalation of NIL payments in college sports, meanwhile, has additionally prompted some players to delay their move to the pro ranks. 

Unintended Consequences?

Like many other revisions of core rules in college sports, the latest consideration includes working through the numerous logistical elements involved. For example, should the new rules go into effect this summer, it is not yet clear whether those changes would give additional eligibility to those college athletes currently finishing their fourth year. 

Additionally, it is not yet clear whether these latest potential changes would survive forthcoming legal challenges, at either a federal or state level. In the current framework, dozens of players have sued in pursuit of additional eligibility—with the current case involving Vanderbilt quarterback and Heisman Trophy runner-up Diego Pavia and his prior time in junior college standing foremost among those disputes. The NCAA has won the majority of the lawsuits, but the ongoing friction has created further instability.

The NIL situation complicates this even more, as any sort of eligibility limit has been viewed by some as a restraint on one’s ability to earn money. 

NCAA president Charlie Baker, however, said during the recent Final Four that he shares Trump’s goal to create a more streamlined system.

“I think part of the message from [Trump] is, can we figure out some way to push this a little harder through the legislative process and get something on the books that works and represents what most people are looking for at this point—which is a much simpler eligibility process, which we’ve been talking to our committees about,” he said.