In light of recent court rulings that ostensibly granted junior athletes an additional season of collegiate eligibility in 2025, the NCAA is reportedly considering fundamentally changing its eligibility requirements.
According to college basketball insider Jon RothsteinThe NCAA is considering whether or not to add an additional year of eligibility to the current four-year limit for all players in all NCAA sports. The subject is expected to be discussed early this year.
THE The NCAA currently grants student-athletes a five-year term, effectively giving them five years to play four seasons.offering an additional redshirt year to those who qualify. The five-year time limit currently begins when athletes enroll as full-time students.
This change could simply eliminate the extra redshirt year and allow athletes to participate in collegiate athletics for five full seasons, or provide athletes with a six-year window to play five seasons.
NCAA makes major change to eligibility rules for 2025-26 season
A waiver from the NCAA Division I Board of Directors was granted in mid-December, allowing a set of players to remain eligible for the 2025-26 season. They must have competed at a non-NCAA school throughout their career while not being previously eligible. Now the NCAA says they can come back for one more year.
Vanderbilt strategist Diego Pavie is the highest-profile beneficiary of the waiver, after a Tennessee district court judge granted him a preliminary injunction against the NCAA imposing eligibility restrictions for seasons spent at the junior college level.
But now it applies to athletes in all NCAA sports.
“NEWS: The NCAA Division I Board of Directors has granted a waiver to allow athletes who have attended and competed at a non-NCAA school for 1 year or more to remain eligible and compete in 2025-26 if those athletes would have otherwise used their final season of competition during the 2024-25 academic year and met all other eligibility requirements (e.g., progress toward degree, period of eligibility five years)”, Darren Heitner said via X.
At the same time, the NCAA filed a notice of appeal regarding the Pavie case. Waivers will be granted for this specific year, but the NCAA appealing the decision could prevent this from becoming an annual event in college athletics.
“The NCAA also filed a notice of appeal against the court’s decision in the Diego Pavia case,” Heitner said.
Pavie transferred to Vanderbilt this season, initially considered his final year of eligibility. He spent his education at the New Mexico Military Institute and two more at New Mexico State. A fifth year was granted due to COVID-19 in 2020, allowing Pavie to play for the Commodores.
Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.
