NCAA eligibility is a complex subject, and most athletes do not realize they start losing eligibility just one year after they graduate high school. Make sure you fully understand the rules for your sport before you decide to delay your college enrollment.
How Much Eligibility Do I Start With?
You get five years to compete in four. The fifth year is called a red-shirt year. Red-shirting allows you to take a year of competition off for many different reasons but permits you to compete athletically in four years. Athletes use their red-shirt year to heal from injuries, catch up on academics, let athletes ahead of them on the depth chart graduate, among many other reasons.
Understand the Rules
For all NCAA Division I sports (except men’s ice hockey and skiing and men’s and women’s tennis), athletes are given a one-year grace period before they start losing eligibility. One year after your high school graduation, the NCAA can take away a year of competition for every year you continue to play organized sports.
If you play division I men’s hockey or skiing, your grace period is longer than that of other athletes. You are allowed to delay your college enrollment until your 21st birthday. Every 12 months you continue to play after your 21st birthday, you will lose a season of competition. In men’s and women’s tennis, the grace period is shortened to just six months after your high school graduation.
All NCAA Division II sports give you a one-year grace period. There are no exceptions to the rules for division II.
What if I don’t Play Sports After High School—Can They Still Take Away My Eligibility?
You may not lose any eligibility if you don’t continue to play sports after high school, but it is extremely difficult to get recruited if you aren’t playing competitively. The NCAA has strict guidelines for determining what organized competition is, and almost anything short of a pickup game can hurt your eligibility. The bottom line is not playing to save eligibility will not help you.
What Are My Other Options?
You still have the one-year grace period, so make sure that if you do use it, then you are using it to get better at your sport and connect with college coaches. After you graduate high school, you can take a year to play at a prep school; this is known as postgraduate studies. Junior college is another option. You may not have full eligibility by the time you transfer to a four-year college, but at least you will be competing in your sport and starting your college education. You will also be playing at a higher level, which looks great in NCAA coaches’ eyes.
NCAA eligibility can be hard to understand, so make sure to ask us your questions in the comments section below! You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+!
I’M still study at the Third year in High School
and i need to connect this program and the Soccer scholarship
I have a student who graduated HS December 2009, he worked the following year, then attended prep in 11/12. How many years of eligibility does he have left? Does he need to red shirt the first year?
I’ve graduated from HS in june 2010. I participated in competitions in 2011, but did not participated in any organized competition in 2012. I want to go to University in january 2013, do I have 3 or 4 years eligibility left? Thanks
Hi Dario,
Thanks for your question. Determining your eligibility will be confirmed with the NCAA eligibility center, it also has to deal with the sport you play and if you attend any college courses since graduating high school. You are correct in estimating you will have 3 maybe four years left. The best thing to do now is to reach out to college coaches to see if you have what it takes to compete for their teams. It may be hard since you are not competing now; they are going to want to see your most recent stats. Have you applied to any universities at this point?
I’m in the track & field. Did not attend any college courses since graduation from my HS. The think that bothers me is that everbody is saying different. I mean, I’ve called the NCAA 3 times. Each time a different person answerd the phone and gave me different answers. The first wasn’t sure, the second told me I have only 3 years and will have to sit down a season of 2013 becouse of the late enrollment, and the third told me i will have no problems and will have all 4 years of eligibility. So I’m confused who to belive? I mean if they from the NCAA gave me different aswers who will know?
Thanks, Dario
That is frustrating. I don’t understand why they would give you different answers? In your case you should focus your attention on finding the right colleges and connecting with college coaches. Either way if you have 3 or 4 years left coaches will want to know more about you, especially if they are impressed with your stats. Start getting your sports resume out to them:
http://www.athleticscholarships.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/How_to_Create_a_College_Recruiting_Resume_E-Book.pdf
does a red shirt athlete also delay his academics. After 4 years if he has enough credits to graduate can he still play ball
Red shirt does not delay academics. Usually athletes redshirt their first season or when they have an injury. If you still have eligibility years left then you will be able to compete. This is something that should be discussed with your coach and compliance officer to make sure everything is in order.
hey am international student and am out of high school and i want to play for a division 1 college team but i just dont know if they would let me and i dont have any video but i can make one.i am in kentucky and am reenrolled in my high school though and 2 if u know of a coach,could u oliz connect me with him coz i need help bro to play ball.my name is john i graduated high school in may 2012. played in the kcaa league and was the third best player in the league!
I have a student who became ill with chronic Lyme disease in high school and was not well enough to attend college or play sports. Part of his recovery was playing in league games at a sport club he belonged to. (basketball) He then attended a open gym at a junior college and was offered a partial scholarship. he signed a letter of intent and started classes. After practicing and playing in one scrimmage game he realized he was not well enough to play at this time. His Doctor agrees. What are his options?
It sounds like his first step will be to look at getting a medical grey shirt. This means he could be granted an extra year of eligibility.
I coach a winter football program for 13-17yo. If a senior athlete plays for me after his high school season would he lose a year of eligibility? We are a non profit 501c3 organization and run a youth football program for 5-14yo during the fall.
Athletes can continue participating in their sport for one year after they graduate high school without losing eligibility. So if a player graduates this spring for instance, he could continue playing football until August of the following year.
One thing to keep in mind: the date this year period starts is the earlier of when the athlete graduates or was scheduled to graduate. So if an athlete graduates late, use the year their class graduated.
To
begin with, I came to the US when i was 18yrs.I graduated high school
August of 2006 (19yrs). There after, i took a semester off. I enrolled
at a community college
Spring 2007 or January 2007. I graduated fall 2010 (23yrs) My school
was part time and full time. I enrolled at Mercy College fall 2011 at
the age of 24yrs. This is my last semester here at a four year school and am 25yrs.
It is too bad that i did not know about how the eligibility works. I
only played for the community college fall of 2010.
In terms of teams. I have played about 12 approximately
amateur teams all over new york and new jersey. My current league is the
garden state league including 3 other Spanish local leagues . I play in
the Netherlands/Holland for one season for an amateur club or division
4 and returned to NY but was never paid in all these games.
This
is my history. Please i will be glad if something will work for me.
Because i will cry if finish my college soccer like this. I was even thinking i
have saved my eligibility.
Thanks
coach
Based on what you have outlined, you have no eligibility left. Once you start playing college sports, you have five years to compete four years. Best of luck.
I graduated from a 4-year bachelor’s program in 2012 but only played 2 years of women’s bball at the NAIA level. Initially received interest from several D1 institutions but chose a ministry-based school. After graduating, I also worked as an assistant coach at the high school level in the 2012-2013 season. How many years of eligibility would I have for the NCAA taking all this into consideration?