NCAA Extends Eligibility for Players - Awesome News!

[Hockeynation]

Great news for all female players and programs. NCAA has extended the eligibility for the players. Especially great for the players who's schools have cancelled programs or are planning abbreviated schedules. Great progressive move by the NCAA. Sure to cause some recruiting shock waves for years.


http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources...nds-eligibility-winter-sport-student-athletes

 

[Timothy A]

But.....do the Universities have the right to decline offering the extra year eligibility? This extension creates all sorts of headaches does it not?

 

[ARM]

I don't think that there are any easy answers where everybody wins. Assuming that there aren't any Covid-19 impacts on next season in terms of cancellations or postponements (and that's a big assumption at this point), if there isn't any increase in the number of games next season, then same number of game minutes, and thus shifts, will be shared by a larger pool of student athletes. It would seem that this decision would have the largest adverse impact on next season's freshmen, as each of their four seasons will be conducted with a larger-than-normal pool of athletes.

 

[Sieve1]

Not exactly “awesome news” for high school seniors and juniors. Result will be many high school players forced to take PG years, or college rosters balloon and 10-12 players watch games from stands in street clothes. Then there’s the free agent grad transfer market. Count on several college players taking their 5th year of eligibility at different schools. Mostly at larger universities that offer graduate programs. Schools like UW, UM, OSU, PSU, Clarkson, are probably already targeting players for grad transfer spots.