The NCAA endures major changes with the passing of the 5-for-5 rule which grants athletes five years of eligibility.
By Kellan Hudson
Sports Editor
Sports
The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) recently passed a momentous and pivotal “5-for-5” rule, which changes the entire landscape of college sports.
The 5-for-5 rule allows college Division 1 and 2 athletes to compete for five years at the college level. The five years start upon the player’s arrival to campus or on their 19th birthday, whichever comes first. Therefore, if an athlete enrolls late, they will not get to play five years.
The catch is that the 5 years must be competed in consecutively. If a player plays for four years straight, they could not take a year off and then come back a year later and play again. This means that the 5-for-5 rule has also eliminated all redshirting.
Prior to this rule, athletes were granted four years to compete at the collegiate level, but sometimes those “years” were spread out over five or six years. Athletes who wanted extra time to adapt to the college game or who were recovering from injury, might “redshirt” a season, where they could practice with the team, but not compete in games.
In the old system, this would preserve a year of eligibility, but now this is no longer necessary as the athlete has five years to play regardless of whether or not they actually compete in any of those years.
There was no age limit on competing in college sports prior to the implementation of the 5-for-5 rule. It was not uncommon to see players in their mid to late 20s competing at the college level (this was particularly common amongst big sports such as football, hockey, and basketball). The oldest Division 1 college men’s basketball player last year (the 2025-2026 season) was Harvard’s Ramel Bethea, who was 29 years old.
The NCAA originally passed its 5-for-5 rule in order to make its rules simpler by eliminating complications with “athletics redshirts, delayed enrollment/organized competition and other sport-specific rules, seasons of competition, and waiver opportunities” (NCAA, 2026).
The new 5-for-5 rule provides several benefits to athletes rising into the collegiate level. It keeps the players competing in college sports college aged, and it also encourages players to finish their degree. Coach Hannah Vance of Winthrop University’s Division 1 women’s lacrosse team spoke on the academic benefits of the 5-for-5 rule by stating that, “Depending on the sport and the athlete and the academic path that they’re taking, it could take someone five years to finish their undergrad.”
Allowing players an additional year of eligibility gives players more time to finish out a degree, which will likely lead to an increase in graduation rates. On top of this, the 5-for-5 rule also encourages athletes who graduate in four years to consider enrolling in grad school for their fifth year of eligibility. Coach Vance shared that “more often than not girls are on time to graduate in four years, so now this gives everyone an opportunity to start or finish grad school.”
While coaches and players alike seem to be in agreement over the academic and age benefits of the 5-for-5 rule, athletes have their own fears, especially in the nature of injuries. For instance, junior Katie Beck of the Winthrop softball team shared that when she first heard of the new 5-for-5 rule she was initially disappointed.
“I was a little disappointed just because most of my teammates now get five years of actual playing time where my time technically got shortened due to my injury,” Beck said. “There are no medical redshirt exceptions, which was also a bummer, so now I’ll only get to play four full years.”
Beck had to medically redshirt her sophomore year when she tore both her hip labrums. This shows that athletes who get injured in college will technically play less years than their teammates who remain healthy all five years. She said that a downfall of the 5-for-5 rule is that it doesn’t necessarily account for injuries, especially for athletes who get injured for more than one season.
“I think that there should still be a medical redshirt. I think it’s kind of unfair, especially if an athlete gets injured twice throughout their career,” Beck said.
