Overview
- The Division I Cabinet unanimously approved the policy on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, giving athletes five seasons to use within a five-year window that begins at full-time college enrollment or the academic year after their 19th birthday.
- The rule removes most redshirts and eligibility-extension waivers and sets a July 31 deadline for schools to submit legacy waiver requests under the old system.
- Only narrowly defined exceptions will pause the clock for pregnancy, official religious missions, or active-duty military service, and injuries will no longer qualify for extensions.
- Less than 24 hours after the vote, plaintiffs filed lawsuits challenging the rule’s exclusion of players whose eligibility expired in spring 2026, and lawyers Darren Heitner and Ryan Downton have organized wider class-action plans.
- NCAA leaders say the change is meant to simplify administration and curb transfer-portal churn and loopholes for older international or pro entrants, but sports-law cases already pending suggest the overhaul faces substantial legal risk and possible congressional interest.