The NCAA is reportedly set to discuss an age-0based eligibility rule to combat the current chaos of college athletics.
According to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, an NCAA committee will discuss a potentially new standard that would grant athletes 5 years (not seasons) of eligibility from the time of their 19th birthday or high school graduation, whichever comes first.
This would streamline the redshirt process, too. Under the new standard, waiver requests, redshirts and exceptions will not be permitted, except for in very specific circumstances such as military service, maternity leave or religious missions.
There are going to be a few hurdles to jump with this one, but the idea seems like a good one on the surface. The current state of college athletics sees some teams stock up on older talent — some as old as 25 or 26 — who are entering their 6th or even 7th seasons of eligibility.
Perhaps the biggest change made by this proposal is the nullification of the redshirt. With 5 seasons of eligibility, every player would essentially get a free season of eligibility when compared to today’s model.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
