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The NCAA is reportedly exploring the idea of allowing five years of eligibility for athletes in all sports. This would effectively give all athletes the potential of having seven years of college sports eligibility.
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia recently received an injunction in court in which he successfully claimed his junior college years shouldn’t count against his NCAA eligibility since the NCAA doesn’t govern junior colleges. Should that ruling stand and the NCAA begin giving all athletes five years, that would mean every athlete could play a college sport for seven years should they choose to do so.
The idea of the NCAA giving all athletes five years of eligibility without having to redshirt or get a medical hardship waiver was first floated back in September. On Friday, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported that the idea is still very much in play.
“The NCAA is considering allowing five years of eligibility for players in all sports moving forward, per an NCAA official,” Rothstein wrote on X (Twitter). “The topic will continue to be discussed in early 2025.”
In September, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports reported, “Member schools plan to seriously consider granting athletes in all sports, not just football, the ability to participate in up to a certain percentage of games in a fifth season and still use their redshirt; permit athletes to earn prize money before they enroll in college; and eliminate the National Letter of Intent.”
Reactions on social media to this latest report that the NCAA is still considering giving all athletes in every sport five years of eligibility (in addition to the two they can receive at a junior college) were rather mixed.
“I’m all for this idea. In the NIL era, give good college players with no professional prospects an extra year to earn money playing the sport they love,” one popular comment read.
“Bad for high school seniors among many other things,” read another. “Most 18-year-olds will not physically be able to compete with 23-year-olds in any sport.”
“Might as well just let minor leaguers, practice squad players and G leaguers come back and play in college again at this rate,” someone else wrote.
“Let’s just get rid of classes also,” another fan responded.
“What’s the rationale?” another commenter wrote. “International players can enter college at 23 and be listed as freshmen.”