Grizaddict wrote: ↑Fri Jul 13, 2018 11:07 am
I’m still curious if it will only apply to true freshman or any redshirt regardless of year in school. Will be interesting to see how they handle that one.
Also there are rules under this that will still eliminate eligibility if one of the games played is a post season game. So it will be interesting to see how coaches strategically use a player, whether it’s early or late or they save them for depth.
Found the actual proposal when I was searching for this. Though will still have to wait for the final manual to see if they change any wording the fact that this proposal is marked 'Adopted' and shows the change to the manual makes me think it is probably pretty final.
https://web3.ncaa.org/lsdbi/search/prop ... ?id=101282
The only change to the manual is an ammendment (bolded areas the new content):
12.8 Seasons of Competition: Five-Year Rule. A student-athlete shall not engage in more than four seasons of intercollegiate competition in any one sport (see Bylaws 12.02.5 and 14.3.3). An institution shall not permit a student-athlete to represent it in intercollegiate competition unless the individual completes all of his or her seasons of participation in all sports within the time periods specified below:
[12.8 unchanged.]
12.8.3 Criteria for Determining Season of Competition.
12.8.3.1 Minimum Amount of Competition. Any competition, regardless of time, during a season in an intercollegiate sport shall be counted as a season of competition in that sport, except as provided in Bylaws 12.8.3.1.1, 12.8.3.1.2, 12.8.3.1.4, 12.8.3.1.5 and 12.8.3.1.6. This provision is applicable to intercollegiate athletics competition conducted by a two-year or four-year collegiate institution at the varsity or subvarsity level.
[12.8.3.1.1 through 12.8.3.1.5 unchanged.]
12.8.3.1.6 Exception -- Football. In football, a student-athlete may compete in up to four contests in a season without using a season of competition.
[12.8.3.2 through 12.8.3.7 unchanged.]
[12.8.4 through 12.8.6 unchanged.]
It's pretty clear from this to me anyway that this in no way limits to just incoming freshman and allows for football players to play 4 years + 4 games in a 5th year (regardless of timing or ordering of those years).
It's also obvious if you read the rationale in the proposal that one of the reasonings for this is to limit the number of requests for the so called "medical red-shirt" or 5th year waiver for medical hardship. The rationale also points out many of the other points around acclimating, and allowing for not using a year when forced to use a player for depth and is obviously the source of many of the quotes from the stories about this.
Rationale: Under current legislation, a student-athlete who participates in one play of one contest uses a season of competition. This proposal would enhance student-athlete well-being by permitting a student-athlete, in football, to participate in up to four games without using a season of competition. The current rule often places coaches in a difficult position to decide whether to play a student-athlete in a limited amount of competition or to preserve the student-athlete's season of eligibility. The opportunity to play in a small number of games will ease this decision for coaches and help the student-athlete's development and transition to the college game. Additional flexibility with substitutes may allow starters and more experienced student-athletes additional rest and/or to feel less pressure to play through injuries. The opportunity to play will help student-athletes who might otherwise "redshirt" to remain engaged with the team and may reduce the number of transfers that occur annually in football. Another potential benefit of this legislation is the opportunity for younger student-athletes to participate in bowl games, which are often as much about preparing for the following season as completing the current season. This legislation is supported by the AFCA Board of Trustees. Finally, this proposal may reduce administrative burden by eliminating the need to process a medical hardship request if a student-athlete is injured after limited participation.
The rationale text also specifically points out the post-season aspect and would seem to indicate that post-season play is included in this rule change (to GA's question). Now waiting on the first FCS team to have their star player that started as a true-freshman sit out his 5th year only to come back for a four game playoff run...
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