{"id":641188,"date":"2026-04-08T12:16:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T19:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=641188"},"modified":"2026-04-08T12:16:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T19:16:48","slug":"ncaa-exploring-change-to-eligibility-five-years-age-restrictions-no-redshirts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ncaa-exploring-change-to-eligibility-five-years-age-restrictions-no-redshirts\/","title":{"rendered":"NCAA Exploring Change to Eligibility: Five Years, Age Restrictions, No Redshirts"},"content":{"rendered":"

NCAA Exploring Change to Eligibility: Five Years, Age Restrictions, No Redshirts<\/strong><\/p>\n

The rules regarding eligibility for college sports could soon undergo significant upheaval. According to a report from Yahoo Sports, the NCAA has laid out a proposal that would give all athletes five years of eligibility while instituting age restrictions and removing opportunities for redshirt years.<\/p>\n

The new system would grant athletes five years of eligibility beginning with their 19th birthday or their high school graduation, whichever comes first. Student-athletes would then be allowed to compete in their sports over all of the next five seasons. They would no longer be able to sit out a year and gain an extra season later for competitive or injury-related reasons. Redshirts would only be allowed for maternity leave, military service or religious missions.<\/p>\n

The Yahoo report indicates that the proposal has recently been shared with conference and university administrators, and members of the NCAA Division I Cabinet will review the concept at a meeting next week. This new framework could be implemented as soon as the 2026-27 academic year.<\/p>\n

It is expected that it will be phased in, not retroactively stripping eligibility from current athletes. However, it is unclear if athletes finishing their fourth and final year this spring will be allowed an additional season.<\/p>\n