NCAA Moves Closer to Age-Based Eligibility Rules With Potential Impact on College Softball
The NCAA Division I Board of Directors directed the Division I Cabinet to move forward with an age-based eligibility concept on Monday.
The new legislation would give student-athletes five years of eligibility starting with the academic year they turn 19 or graduate from high school, whichever happens first.
Once approved, softball players will have five years to play five seasons. They will no longer have only four seasons of competition within their five-year eligibility window.
"The time is now to reform the period of eligibility rules to provide Division I student-athletes and our schools clear and consistent standards that align with current college athletes' experiences," said Tim Sands, president at Virginia Tech and chair of the board, in a press release on Monday. "The board fully supports student-athletes receiving the unprecedented financial benefits now available to them and emphasized these changes would protect opportunities for high school student-athletes to access the benefits only college sports can provide, while delivering predictable outcomes for student-athletes and our schools."
Per the release, the Board also expressed support for additional changes. One way to maintain the Division I core guarantees, which includes degree-completion funding for up to 10 years after a student athlete's eligibility expires, if they haven't earned their degree yet. Second is to maintain existing rules for the student-athletes competing in the 2025-26 academic year.
The second point speaks directly to seniors who will run out of eligibility this spring. Those student-athletes will still abide by the four seasons of competition in five years of eligibility rule.
NCAA President Charlie Baker told ESPN that he’s “pretty optimistic” that the new aged-based eligibility proposal will happen.
“If you’ve used up your eligibility, you’ve used it up,” Baker said of the discussion.
The news from the Board comes just weeks after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on April 3 directing the NCAA to create rules around five years of eligibility.
The new model under both President Trump's executive order and the Board's recommendation would include exceptions for pregnancy, military service and religious missions. It would also do away with redshirt seasons.
When it comes to softball, student-athletes wouldn't be allowed to compete for a sixth, seventh, or sometimes eighth competitive season. Examples like Virginia Tech's Bre Warren and former UCLA standout Aliyah Jordan come to mind. Jordan would not be allowed to happen again, despite her receiving multiple redshirts due to injuries. Warren, who recently sued the NCAA for eligibility and lost, would've been able to play last season regardless of where she went to school.
The Cabinet is expected to meet in May.
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Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.