NCAA Division I Cabinet Approves Five-Year Age-Based Eligibility Model

The NCAA Division I cabinet unanimously approved a five-year, age-based eligibility model on June 23. Under the structure, athletes may complete no more than five seasons of competition within five years. The eligibility clock begins at full-time enrollment or at the start of the academic year after an athlete’s 19th birthday, whichever occurs first.

Traditional redshirt seasons, medical redshirt waivers and general extension waivers are eliminated. Exceptions that permit athletes to exceed the five-in-five limit include military service, religious missions and maternity leave. The policy replaces a prior system that allowed extended careers through redshirts, injuries and pandemic-related waivers.

Tyler Shough played two seasons at Oregon, three at Texas Tech and one at Louisville before entering the NFL. Aidan Keanaaina used a medical redshirt and pandemic waiver across six years at Notre Dame and California. Tom Loy, a national recruiting analyst for 247Sports, wrote that the rule could keep talented players in college longer and shift coaches’ focus toward retaining upperclassmen.

“With the opportunity to play five full seasons, they could have a roster full of 23-year-olds, for example, compared to 18- or 19-year-olds,” Loy wrote. Shough said future athletes should retain access to a medical redshirt and a traditional redshirt. “I think everybody should have a chance to at least get a medical and then a redshirt,” he said.

Kelsey Fee, an assistant women’s lacrosse coach at Dartmouth, said the model would affect sports differently, noting it would be good for sports like lacrosse where post-grad and redshirt years are less common than in football. Green Bay Packers center Sean Rhyan said the fixed timeline could restore loyalty. “Five for five, that’s fair,” Rhyan said.