The NCAA needed a response to the increasing number of older, professional players worming their way into college eligibility, but their proposed five-year eligibility solution could put programs like BYU, Utah, and any LDS student-athlete at an extreme disadvantage both as the recruiter and as the recruit.
Here's how the proposal works. Starting from a player's high school graduation or their 19th birthday, players are afforded five years to play up to five seasons of college sports. No more redshirts or waivers -- five years is all you get, healthy or no.
NCAA moving closer to five-year eligibility, clock starts at HS graduation or 19 years old, eliminating redshirts and waivers. Five years to play up to five seasons.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) April 27, 2026
Release notes this would NOT be retroactive, meaning current seniors wouldn’t get an extra year. https://t.co/nQfkpWcASr
This rule is gaining lots of momentum, and NCAA president Charlie Baker is "pretty confident" that the proposal will pass. It's a new reality for college sports.
In many ways this is a very good solution. Players can play up to five seasons of college sports, collecting NIL paychecks and getting to fund their education by playing the sports they're passionate about. Something needed to be done to dissuade G-League dropouts and NBA busts from circling back and playing down a level against 18 and 19-year-olds. And the rules were simply too nebulous to stand on when obvious rejections turned into an endless stream of litigation.
It's not perfect, but it's a strong option.
But for BYU athletics and the unique circumstances surrounding their student body, and LDS athletes at programs across the nation. In the event of an athlete serving missionary service, those individuals will be stripped of two years of eligibility for their volunteer service.
That puts schools like BYU, Utah, Utah State, and other schools with a high population of Latter-day Saint students at an inherent disadvantage, with fewer players afforded the chance to play a full college career.
For the athlete, fewer programs will take interest in recruiting players who, at best, will only be able to play for 60% of their allotted eligibility, after returning from their missionary service. Something will have to give, forcing prospective missionaries to choose between being a high-level college athlete and serving a mission.
The current proposal specifies that there will be no redshirts or waivers to grant extra years of eligibility. If this moves forward, the NCAA must make an exception for missionaries and other non-athletic absences.
If the NCAA moves eligibility to 5 years to play 5 seasons from when you graduate high school or turn 19 years old, they have to make an exemption for religious based schools like BYU and UTAH who routinely have student athletes go on 1-2 year mission trips before they ever play.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) April 27, 2026
Take Dawson Baker, for example, whose college career began after serving a 2-year full-time mission in Micronesia. Several season-ending injuries and medical redshirts have sidelined him to the point where he'll line up his final season of eligibility as a 26-year-old senior. Had the 5-year rule been in place for Baker, he'd have only three years to play college basketball. All three of which would have been spent at UC-Irvine, as he wouldn't have the option to play his senior year at BYU.
Is it harsh? Absolutely. Is it fair? For the athletes, mostly yes, so long as all athletes are given the same strict ruleset. But for BYU, it's entirely unequal.
College sports were changed forever by the implementation of NIL deals. Let's hope that BYU doesn't get left behind for reasons beyond their control.
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