Getty Image / Ron Jenkins
Never before have college athletes been able to stick around on college rosters more than they are able to right now. Due to a blanket year of free eligibility given to athletes during the COVID pandemic and lax restrictions on medical hardship waivers, college players are frequently spending six years in college living out their dreams.
Occasionally, players can even spend seven years on NCAA rosters if the circumstances work out perfectly. Incumbent Oklahoma State starting quarterback Alan Bowman will be one of those athletes next season, as his waiver for a seventh college football season has been approved by the NCAA.
Oklahoma State QB Alan Bowman granted an additional year of eligibility after successful waiver request submitted to NCAA. This will be Bowman's 7th year of college football, 2nd at Oklahoma State, which returns 19 starters in 2024
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) January 4, 2024
Bowman started his career at Texas Tech, where he played in 19 games over a span of three years, throwing for over 5260 yards and 33 touchdowns. But, he transferred to Michigan prior to the 2021 season with hopes to win the starting job, only to be beat out by Cade McNamara, who went on to win the Big Ten that year for the Wolverines. He stayed put for another year, before leaving for Oklahoma State prior to this season.
Bowman had an up-and-down season as the quarterback at Oklahoma State. He had just 15 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, but did throw for 3460 yards and led Oklahoma State to the Big 12 title game after a slow start. His return will be a boost for the Cowboys, who have a clear path to the College Football Playoff next year with Texas and Oklahoma leaving the Big 12.
Still, seven years is a lot of time, especially when we’re used to most college football players playing five years at the most. But, Bowman had a redshirt year at Michigan, and was granted an injury waiver for his 2019 season at Texas Tech, where he only played three games. People on Twitter have some jokes about the situation.
Alan Bowman auditing a class this fall pic.twitter.com/JTPlILJVL5
— Mike Maher (@mikeMaher) January 4, 2024
The NCAA roulette wheel of random eligibility determinations has looked upon Alan Bowman and smiled this day. https://t.co/x8T3tCKx90
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) January 4, 2024
Alan Bowman taking his team pictures pic.twitter.com/pwVmmJmA5i
— Rollin’ Raiders 🏴☠️ (@rollin_raiders) January 4, 2024
Personally, I can’t fault a kid like Alan Bowman that doesn’t have a ton of NFL potential for playing college football and likely making a good amount of money through NIL before he has to enter the real world.