If NCAA Charlie Baker gets his way, the organization will officially streamline eligibility rules in the near future. Out with four years of eligibility with the option to redshirt for a year, plus potential medical exemption years tacked on. In with five years to play five seasons for every player, with a small set of exemptions including those for religious missions, military service and pregnancy.
A rarity for the organization, the “five-in-five” proposal has pretty broad support, and was included in President Donald Trump’s executive order about college sports released earlier this month. It isn’t perfect, and will likely invite its own significant scrutiny, but the combination of COVID-19 season exemptions and mass transfers has created a Wild West atmosphere that most around college sports are eager to move past. And yet, it could create its own short term pain, as St. John’s men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino explained to Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman.
