NCAA's Push for Sweeping Eligibility Changes Earns Support From Major SEC Coach

Pete Golding endorses the NCAA's five-in-five eligibility proposal, calling the age-based model a 'great concept'

The NCAA is considering a five-in-five eligibility model, likely to take effect around 2027-28, that grants athletes five seasons of competition within a strict five-year window, starting at age 19 or upon high school graduation. | Jenna Watson/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The NCAA is building momentum behind one of its most significant eligibility overhauls in decades. Under the proposed "five-in-five" model, athletes would receive five years of eligibility beginning at age 19 or upon high school graduation, whichever comes first.

NCAA president Charlie Baker is driving the effort and pushing for a vote on emergency legislation as soon as mid-May. If approved, the new standard could take effect by the 2026-27 school year.

The concept is already earning support from prominent coaches across the country, including Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding, who recently addressed the proposal with reporters.

Pete Golding's case for the five-year eligibility model

Golding's support is grounded in real concerns about how the current system functions. He pointed directly to the confusion it creates for players trying to plan their own development.

"Yeah, I mean obviously it's been talked about for a long time," Golding told reporters. "So we'll see if it comes to fruition. I think the concept's a great concept, not, 'Hey here's four games and then, all right, here's the nine-game component of it.' I think it allows guys to come in — am I redshirting, am I not redshirting — to really develop, quit focusing on all those things."

He also addressed the legal pressure behind the conversation.

"I'm sure they're looking at it from a litigation standpoint," he said. "So the model makes sense."

Golding's perspective carries added context given Ole Miss's recent history. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss spent the 2025 offseason in a drawn-out eligibility dispute with the NCAA, a case that drew national attention to the system's inconsistencies.

How Baker's 'five-in-five' proposal would reshape college sports

Ohio State's Ryan Day has separately voiced support. "I think it's the right thing to do, for sure," Day said during a Sirius XM appearance, arguing the current four-games-in-five-years restriction creates the wrong incentives around how coaches manage player usage.

Baker framed the concept as something inherently familiar. "The idea of an age-based dynamic or parameter is pretty familiar," he said. "That's the way most of amateur sports is organized."

Redshirts and waivers would largely be eliminated under the framework, with narrow exceptions for military service, religious missions and pregnancy. WCC commissioner Stu Jackson called it "the best option that we have at this point," noting it gives the NCAA its strongest legal defense going forward.

The Division I Cabinet could vote on emergency legislation as early as mid-May.