Another significant change to college sports appears imminent, with the NCAA taking the next step toward implementation of a new five-years-to-play-five-years eligibility model that basically establishes an age cap for athletes. It’s likely this will be in place for the 2026-27 academic year.
After a robust discussion, the Division I Board of Directors on Monday directed the Division I Cabinet to advance an age-based eligibility concept that, if adopted in its current form, would permit
student-athletes up to five years of eligibility beginning the regular academic year after they turn 19 or graduate from high school, whichever happens earlier. Under that model, Division I student-athletes would no longer be limited to only four seasons of competition within their five-year eligibility window.
This makes redshirts a thing of the past. Athletes get to compete in all five years of their eligibility window, but once it’s closed, that’s it. Among other things, the NCAA is hoping that simplifying eligibility in this way will cut down on the legal challenges from players that it has had to face.
The change is also in part a response to an unpleasant trend in college basketball, which has seen some schools recruit players who have previously been drafted or played in the G-League. This past season, Baylor brought in big man James Nnaji, who was a member of the 2023 NBA Draft class. Under the current eligibility standards, that 21-year-old fellow got to be classified as a freshman, since he hadn’t played any college ball before. That would not be the case under the age-based model.
The new rules will not retroactively apply to the guys and gals who exhausted their eligibility this season—the NCAA has wisely determined that the offseason is chaotic enough and does not need any additional nonsense at this time. (A flood of senior basketball players suddenly getting another year would have led to some serious roster mayhem.)
