Over the past few years, the NCAA's eligibility rules have been pushed to the brink as athletes continue to look for any reason to stick around with how appealing NIL and Revenue Sharing have become. Diego Pavia beat the NCAA in court in a big win for JUCO players, earning those players extra time in college. Players like Trinidad Chambliss, Joey Aguilar, and Owen Heinecke have all taken the NCAA to court this offseason with varying results.
It became clear that the NCAA needed to find a solution to slow the frenzy of all these court cases. Over the past few weeks, the idea of moving to a model that gives all athletes 5-years of eligibility while eliminating redshirts made the most sense, but it's still yet to be formally adopted.
The NCAA distributing implementation plan signals approval is on the horizon
On Thursday Afternoon, On3's Pete Nakos shared that the NCAA sent the scenarios for the new model to schools on Thursday.
Scenarios for the NCAA's age-based eligibility model were sent to schools today.
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) April 30, 2026
If the model is adopted in its current form, athletes who enroll at a DI school immediately after high school are likely to receive five 5 years of eligibility. https://t.co/uQJm8D7FtI pic.twitter.com/UBp25tjvUl
Among the notable points is the fact that any waivers players need to submit must by submitted by July 31st. The rules also make it clear that any athlete who exhausted their eligibility this season will not be grandfathered into the new rules saving the NCAA from a ton of potential chaos, but it may lead to lawsuits.
The new model benefits both the players and the schools as it'll help everyone have a better understanding of how long a player is eligible. Less rosters sports will be taken by 6th and 7th year players allowing more players from the High School ranks to make it to the NCAA.
The expected target for approval has been this summer, but with how quickly this proposal has garnered support, it wouldn't be a surprise if the timeline is sped up given that teams are still adding players in the basketball Transfer Portal.
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