An Eligibility Question

There are two components to the eligibility timeline: 1) seasons actually played (NCAA calls these "seasons of participation"; and 2) the overall time involved, or the "clock." In D1, he has 5 years beginning at first enrollment.

As I understand it, in the case above, the kid wouldn't use a season of participation, but his "clock" would be ticking, so the practical effect would be exactly the same as if he stayed on the team as a "red-shirt."  He will have 4 years remaining to play 4 seasons.

For more clarification, seek out advice from Rick @ Informed Athlete.

I would agree that he didn't use a season of eligibility. In D3, if you practice 1 time during the official spring season, you lose that full year of eligibility.  The question is, when does the clock start?  For D3 parents, check out the eligibility left for each class:

Freshman - 4 years of eligibility and 5 years to play (normal)

Sophomore - 3 years of eligibility and 4 years to play (normal)

Juniors - 3 years of eligibility and 4 years to play (got 1 covid year)

Seniors - 3 years of eligibility and 4 years to play (got 2 covid years)

Still years to work through the backlog.....

It gets tricky with medical redshirts as well. I don't know how well they apply when a transfer is involved.

One of the kids in our program had surgery.

4 Years of eligibility +

1 Medical Redshirt +

1 Regular Redshirt +

1 Covid Year

7 years of college baseball, 3 degrees

FWIW, you can redshirt at a JuCo. Though I wouldn’t recommend it unless there were circumstances to support that decision.

@adbono posted:

FWIW, you can redshirt at a JuCo. Though I wouldn’t recommend it unless there were circumstances to support that decision.

Even at a D3 Juco?

@Francis7 posted:

Even at a D3 Juco?

I’m not sure about that tbh.

There is no such thing as a medical redshirt, but rather it is referred to as a hardship,and must be approved by the NCAA as not to lose a year of eligibility.

The player should be entitled to any scholarship $$ and can rehab while finishing the school year.

If this is your son, you or his mom might want to step in to speak with compliance  regarding  transfering out vs staying, contact the NCAA or contact Rick as suggested above.

JMO

@TPM posted:

There is no such thing as a medical redshirt, but rather it is referred to as a hardship,and must be approved by the NCAA as not to lose a year of eligibility.

The player should be entitled to any scholarship $$ and can rehab while finishing the school year.

No argument there.

But what if...

Knowing that he cannot play, he decides to leave school after the fall semester and enroll in a Juco because it's less expensive, closer to home and preferred rehab and he was never in love with the campus life at his school anyway.

@Francis7 posted:

No argument there.

But what if...

Knowing that he cannot play, he decides to leave school after the fall semester and enroll in a Juco because it's less expensive, closer to home and preferred rehab and he was never in love with the campus life at his school anyway.

That's what needs to be discussed with someone that is more familiar with these situations. While you asked a hypothetical question, obviously there seems to be an medical issue and its obvious that your son wants out. I would refer your questions after it's determined he will miss next season to the schools compliance officer.

@Francis7 posted:

No argument there.

But what if...

Knowing that he cannot play, he decides to leave school after the fall semester and enroll in a Juco because it's less expensive, closer to home and preferred rehab and he was never in love with the campus life at his school anyway.

In the scenario described, as long as this athlete is just rehabbing at the JUCO in the Spring and doesn't play for them, that will be considered a redshirt season, even at a D3 JUCO. 

Athletes at the NCAA D1 level (or at other college levels planning to transfer to D1) need to keep in mind that D1 has a 5-year eligibility "clock" as mentioned previously.  The other levels of four-year colleges instead have a 10-semester or 15-quarter rule, and only the semesters of full-time enrollment count toward the 10-semester limit. 

For the athlete in this specific scenario, if he does transfer from a four-year college to a JUCO, keep in mind that there are specific academic requirements that will need to be satisfied while attending the JUCO in order to be eligible in his first season upon transfer back to an NCAA program (whether D1, D2, or D3). 

Thanks @Rick at Informed Athlete