PEORIA — The NCAA officially changed its eligibility window for D-1 athletes via a unanimous vote of its board on Tuesday.
Students in all sports will be granted five years of eligibility over a period of five seasons. That period starts when the athletes complete initial full-time enrollment in college or at the outset of the academic year that follows an athlete’s 19th birthday, whichever happens first.
That ends the NCAA system of redshirts and waivers and, potentially, lawsuits over eligibility brought by players.
“I think it’s a positive,” Bradley Braves men’s basketball head coach Brian Wardle said. “I like having standards and some rules to it, and hopefully the 5-year rule and age limit will bring some stability to it.
“It’s a step in the right direction.”
Athletes who just completed their fourth season of eligibility without a redshirt would not be granted an additional year, according to an ESPN story. Schools will have flexibility in determining whether to use previous eligibility rules or the new age-based model for athletes with eligibility remaining after the 2025-26 academic year.
Prospects who graduated in spring 2026 will use the age-based model.
“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 published report.
The NCAA Div.-I cabinet made the rule changes official with its vote Tuesday. It is chaired by University of Illinois director of athletics Josh Whitman. It is comprised of representatives from 14 conferences, including the ACC, Big 12, Big Sky and Pac-12.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star senior writer and sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Bradley Braves pleased with NCAA change in athlete eligibility rules
Reporting by Dave Eminian, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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By Dave Eminian, Peoria Journal Star | USA TODAY Network
