NCAA adopts age-based five-year eligibility clock
The NCAA shifted from an enrollment-based clock to an age-based model, limiting collegiate athletes to a consecutive five-year period of eligibility.
The NCAA approved a new age-based eligibility model that defines and limits collegiate student-athletes to a consecutive five-year period of eligibility. Previously, athletes' eligibility began with their first full-time collegiate enrollment and gave them five years to use four seasons of competition, a system that allowed extensions or waivers for extenuating circumstances such as redshirts and medical extensions.