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The NCAA Division I Board of Governors doubled down on Thursday over a new age-based eligibility rule that has prompted some athletes to go to court in hopes of extending their college careers.
The Division I Cabinet, which approved the new rule last month, issued a similar statement last month after a group of basketball players filed a lawsuit in Ohio state court, claiming the age-based model unfairly excluded them from further competition. Since then, other lawsuits have been filed across the country, some of them apparently with the encouragement of their coaches.
The board’s statement says it will not budge from its position as it did when, in response to former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia’s 2024 court victory, it granted an extra year to athletes who had competed at non-NCAA schools for at least one season and were close to completing their eligibility.
“We are encouraged by the broad support of Division I members for age-based eligibility rules,” the board said Thursday. “The design of the new rules, including its implementation strategy, was thoughtful and well-informed, and was unanimously supported by the Cabinet, including its student-athlete members.
(Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
The age-based eligibility rule allows athletes to participate in five seasons of competition over a five-year period beginning with their full-time enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever comes first. The move virtually eliminates waivers or redshirt years for expanded eligibility, except in cases of religious missions, pregnancy or active military service. Extensions will no longer be taken into account for injured athletes.
Athletes whose eligibility expired in the spring of 2026 under the traditional model – four years of competition over five years – will not be eligible for a fifth year of competition under the new rules that take effect this fall.
This is what motivated the first trial, in Ohio. A judge granted a preliminary injunction allowing the players into the transfer portal and the case now goes to trial. Athletes in other cases across the country have also won preliminary injunctions.
Earlier this week, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said the conference ended up supporting the rule despite some executives’ misgivings about its timing. Sankey said it was thought the Protecting College Sports Act, currently circulating in the Senate, could solve the problem. He also said the conference had not received data to justify the change.
“We have moved quickly in this environment because … people are looking for solutions,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press. “That’s not to say there are any solutions, but it’s just ‘Oh, what we’re doing isn’t working. There are so many waivers, there’s so much controversy over eligibility, this has to be better.’ But we’re not sure that’s the case.”
Associated Press reporting.
