NCAA Passes New Rule Making It Easier to Keep Football Redshirts

Starting with the upcoming college football season, players will have an opportunity to take part in more games without risking their redshirt status.

The NCAA Division I council has passed a new rule which will give players a chance to compete in up to four games in a season without fear of losing a year of eligibility.

Currently, student-athletes have five years to compete in up to four seasons. The new exception allows players to preserve a season of competition if, injuries or other factors result in them competing in no more than a quarter of games in a year.

The change will greatly resemble the current allowance in the NCAA’s medical hardship rule, which allows players who are injured and cannot return in a season to retain the year of eligibility if they are injured before playing in more than 30 percent of the games in the first half of the season.

Proponents of the change argued that the old rules were only effective when college football programs had more than 100 scholarships and played ten-game schedules.

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