The entire concept of "eligibility" in college sports was on borrowed time the exact second they decided to start paying the players.

academics have changed dramatically. It is hard to fit a high school student athlete into the four-year box of an undergraduate degree/eligibility anymore. Just some random, scattered thoughts. Lew Alcindor couldn't play varsity his freshmen year. LeBron James was good enough to play D1 basketball when he was a sophomore in high school. Maybe earlier. Kids can finish their high school requirements earlier these days. A 4-year college degree isn't respected or valued as it once was. The disconnect between academics and athletics is as large as ever. But the gap has always been there, from Eric Dickerson's Trans-Am to Scam Newton's bag man. Most Big time players value payment over a scholarship. Many high school athletes (and their parents, clubs, and high school teams) have put in much more money and time into the honing of skills needed to succeed at the college level. NIL money can keep someone playing longer (and staying in college). I don't see this as a bad thing. Programs and their fan bases want to WIN. For those following football and basketball at the highest level, this is a reality. I mentioned below that I think there should be no age (or year) limits as long as a player is enrolled full time and pursuing a degree. ** Edited by Maroon Baboon at 4/17/2025, 12:10:29 PM

Take out the whole concept of years. The final two teams this year played a total of 16 games. So why not use that as a benchmark. 16 games of eligibility over 4 years would be 64 games. So give everyone 64 games of eligibility that they can use over any period of time. Then it would be up to the schools and conferences to incentivize the players to keep playing in every game each year. Or they could selectively manage the roster and sit out key players on purpose for cupcake games and get more time out of them. So if someone wants to stay in college and play for 8 years, then they can, but they would be limited to playing in just 8 games each year. And eventually they will get bored or too old/slow/weak and someone younger will take their place, just like in the NFL.

Why even attach college names to them anymore? Gee I’m looking forward to watching the game between the Tuscaloosa Crinson Tide and The Athens Bulldogs this year.

that are graduating with less and less chance to go to college and develop, because the athletes can play forever. We are completely forgetting the most important mission of college. Educating and developing kids out of High School. Sometimes the individual isn’t as important as the overall group.🤔 ** Edited by Stech at 4/17/2025, 8:40:15 AM

until they are ready for D1 football.

I agree with your sentiments, but big time college football is about making money and winning. If they can rob high school games of a few hundred paid spectators to stay home and watch a college game on the tube, it's of no consequence to them. Colleges today would rather play someone who transferred 4 times and is on their 7th year of eligibility over a 19-year-old out of high school if it meant they'd be better positioned to make the CFP. It's gross. I know. College football has jumped the shark and it's a bad look. We are long over due for a Football Czar that would do what is in the best interest of the sport from high school, to college, to the pros. ** Edited by Maroon Baboon at 4/17/2025, 12:31:53 PM

I can't remember a court case that the NCAA has won since the 80's, and I can't think of how they can win in the future unless Congress makes it a quasi-governmental agency with oversight of college athletics. The only thing the NCAA seems to be able to do is punish schools and conduct championship tournaments, but with some schools threatening lawsuits over not getting at-large bids to the tournament, that may be a thing of the past. Who knows, maybe the NCAA will go back to the NCAA tournament being a conference champion tournament and do away with at-large bids. That might break up the superconferences very quickly and a return to the old SEC, Big10, Pac8, WAC, SWC, Big East, Metro, SEC, BigVII. Conference tournaments would go back to being the "Big Thing" that they were.

be the template for future tournaments. The winning team, Nebraska, earned a $300,000 NIL package The runner up, UCF, earned a $100,000 NIL package The semi finalists, Villanova and Boise State earned $50,000 Now, I certainly am a tournament fan, but it would not surprise me if it goes to the wayside like every other tradition us fans have grown to love.

If it gets to the point VT states that they are out of college football, a minor league could start, and VT could charge for access to all the facilities (Blacksburg Hokies). The question would become how invested would fans be that were VT fans to transition to a "Blacksburg" fan?

this wouldn't work. There's something almost superficial about it; and we don't really want to dive too deeply into the human soul and psyche to figure it out. But it is there nonetheless.

I don't want to see some guy with three PhDs playing 12 years of college sports.

to them and society for not having limits. I am okay with 5 to play 5 since so many battle injuries and with playing a sport they need extra time to get a degree, but that’s enough. Give the High School kids coming out of High School a chance to play too.

No time limit to "stay" in school. No requirement to attend classes. Nothing. Let the guys who aren't good enough for the NFL play their entire pro career in college sports.

I mean it’s not like they can’t play professionally if they are good enough. However as I am sure you know the adults make the rules, and the kids don’t get much of a say.

degree (Associate, Bachelor, Master, Doctorate, Law, whatever) should be able to lace 'em up.

there will be legislative action to codify whatever changes a settlement may bring. There will be no end to the litigation until congress acts for the NCAA, a new entity, or both.

5 years and not 4? Know I’ve seen it somewhere. I think that is what we end up with eventually

Instead it's 5 to play 4. You can play 4 games or a % whatever it is. How about try and simplify things.

know today take 5 years to get a 4 year degree, as many change majors. Thing is, where does it stop? Next someone will sue to get 6 years, or there is another covid exception, ... etc. I don't think it's so much eligibility that is the worry, it's the worry of endless litigation. Without rules codified by anti trust, there is no end to what can be litigated, and now that money has set the president, damages can be awarded. A total mess in my opinion.

athlete has 5 years to complete 4 years of eligibility. Whenever a student-athlete receives a hardship waiver from the NCAA, it is typically because the student-athlete used his/her redshirt year for an injury and missed another year due to injury. So the 6th, 7th, or 8th year of eligibility is really to allow said student-athlete to participate in 4 years for that sport.