NCAA approves eligibility rule changes to combat surge of college athletes in their mid-20s

NCAA Division I athletes will be allowed five years of competition in their college careers instead of four, with redshirts and waivers eliminated after the much-discussed eligibility changes were unanimously approved on Tuesday by the D-I Cabinet.

What the NCAA is calling its “age-based eligibility model” is expected to go into effect for athletes who have eligibility years remaining following the completion of the 2025-26 academic year. Athletes whose fourth season of eligibility was completed by spring 2026 will not be able to take advantage of the new rule, according to recommendations made by the cabinet in previous discussions of the rule.

The move is intended to limit the increasing number of athletes who participate in college sports beyond five years and into their mid-20s by using waivers to gain additional seasons. The new rule will start athletes’ eligibility clock in the academic year after they turn 19 or graduate from high school, whichever occurs first.

The Division I Cabinet has unanimously voted to approve the age-based eligibility model. Additional details to follow.

The Cabinet’s decision is not final until its meeting concludes Wednesday.

— NCAA News (@NCAA_PR) June 23, 2026

The change is a significant one that moves away from the long-held eligibility standard, which allowed athletes five years to have up to four seasons of competition, allowing for one redshirt season. Myriad factors have impacted that rule, from a change in redshirt status that allowed players to play partial seasons and retain a redshirt year, to waivers granted to athletes for season-ending injuries that restored competition seasons. The NCAA also granted a free eligibility year to all athletes in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but most athletes who were active at that time have since exhausted their eligibility.

Legal challenges to eligibility have also impacted the rules, such as the blanket waiver granted to junior college athletes following former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia’s 2024 lawsuit. Though legal challenges could come as a result of this new rule, the NCAA has generally fared well in defending their eligibility rules.

The D-I Cabinet’s decision isn’t final until its meeting concludes on Wednesday.