NCAA Division II panel pushes shift to age-based eligibility starting in 2026-27
This photo taken with a fisheye lens shows the NCAA logo displayed at mid-court before Albany's practice for a second-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament March 21, 2013, in Philadelphia. Credit: AP/Matt Slocum
INDIANAPOLIS — NCAA Division II athletes would move immediately to the age-based eligibility model adopted in Division I under proposed emergency legislation announced Tuesday.
The Division II Management Council recommended the division's executive board adopt the model that would create a five-year period of eligibility, effective for the 2026-27 academic year. Under the proposal, an athlete's eligibility would begin upon initial full-time enrollment or the regular academic year immediately following the student-athlete’s 19th birthday, whichever occurs earlier.
The model was approved in Division I last month and would replace the current Division II model giving athletes four seasons of competition to be completed within their first 10 semesters or 15 quarters of full-time enrollment.
“As we continue evaluating the future of Division II eligibility, our focus remains on creating legislation that is not only easy to understand but is also equitable and centered on the student-athlete experience,” said Ben Cherry, faculty athletics representative at Cal State San Marcos and chair of the management council. “This age-based model simplifies the rules structure by providing clarity and consistency while continuing to support academic success and student-athlete well-being.”
A series of lawsuits have been filed in state and federal courts since the Division I Council approved age-based eligibility June 23. Athletes who graduated from high school in 2022 and exhausted their four-year eligibility in the last academic year have argued they have been unfairly denied a fifth year of eligibility in 2026-27.
An Ohio judge this month granted a preliminary injunction for 24 Division I men’s and women’s college basketball players who sued the NCAA for eligibility. The judge said the NCAA eligibility rules have been applied in an arbitrary and capricious manner. The NCAA has said it would not make exceptions.
