TIGER RAG NEWS SERVICES
At last, the NCAA may have a better chance against the glut of lost lawsuits it has suffered regarding athletes’ eligibility in recent years that has crippled the organization.
The NCAA approved new 5-in-5 eligibility rules for Division I athletes on Tuesday that will allow five seasons of competition over five years, beginning when athletes enroll full time in college or the first academic year after they turn 19 – whichever happens first. Previously, athletes had five years to compete four and could start their collegiate clock without age rules.
The days of getting extra years – called redshirts – for lack of play or for injuries appear to be over with the new rules. Waivers or redshirts will be only for religious missions, maternity leave or active-duty military service. No longer will extensions be considered for athletes who are simply injured.
More information on the NCAA's age-based eligibility rule change and the implementation of it https://t.co/uCdP7CjjM2 pic.twitter.com/qICiHEPz0R
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) June 23, 2026
The new rules are expected to become official when the NCAA adjourns its meetings today. And they are expected to take effect this fall in Division I, which includes more than 350 schools and approximately 200,000 athletes, mostly in football and basketball.
The new eligibility model will affect all athletes who enroll next year for 2027-28. Currently enrolled athletes with eligibility after the 2025-26 academic year, and those who are incoming freshmen this fall, can apply the age-based model or continue under previous eligibility rules. For schools with current athletes who may be eligible for hardship waivers or extensions of eligibility under current rules, the D-I Cabinet indicated the deadline to submit requests to the NCAA is July 31. After that date, waivers would no longer be available.
LSU men’s basketball coach Will Wade, who has been recruiting overseas predominantly since becoming LSU’s coach for a second time last spring, can still get several of his overseas commitments who are well into their 20s eligible for this season. But the new rules would not allow for much of that after this year.
The rash of fashionable lawsuits from athletes with their aggressive lawyers trying to extend their college careers with often questionable arguments via NIL and revenue sharing at schools could also be seriously limited once the rules go in. But anti-NCAA lawyers are expected to keep up their efforts.
“While previous NCAA rules have served college sports well for a long time, we heard also loud and clear from NCAA members and student-athletes that eligibility rules should be easier to understand,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a statement.
The NCAA believes the age-based model will make rules easier to administer and help make roster management more predictable for coaches.
ATTORNEY TOM MARS: “ONE OF THE MOST SENSIBLE THINGS NCAA HAS EVER DONE”
“I think this new rule is one of the most sensible things the NCAA has ever done, and it will absolutely eliminate the type of eligibility litigation that’s predominated lately,” prominent sports attorney Tom Mars told the Associated Press. Mars has frequently represented college football coaches and athletes and has appeared on Tiger Rag Radio.
“Let me put it in bottom-line language,” Mars said. “There’s no way somebody could file an eligibility case based on a medical waiver now with the new rule. Can’t be done. You can file it, I guess, but it will be immediately dismissed.”
Legal strategists will keep strategizing, though.
“I wouldn’t say that the rule change itself will slow lawsuits down,” Sam Ehrlich, a legal professor at Boise State told the A.P. as athletes could still petition courts for extended eligibility via antitrust arguments.
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