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The eligibility calendar is changing in collegiate athletics, and it benefits Alabama football.
The NCAA Division 1 cabinet announced it will approve an age-based eligibility model instead of the rule that athletes can compete in four seasons across five years with no age restrictions.
The clock begins following a player's high school graduation or after their 19th birthday, whichever comes first, one that gives athletes up to five years of competition during a five-year window instead of a redshirt system.
According to the NCAA, currently enrolled athletes with eligibility remaining after the 2025-26 school year will have the flexibility to either follow this age-based model or continue the previous eligibility rules, whichever is most beneficial.
For many members of the Alabama roster, the rule change added an extra year of eligibility.
While Crimson Tide sophomores like Lotzeir Brooks, Dijon Lee Jr., Justin Hill and Michael Carroll have four years left instead of three, and juniors like Ryan Coleman-Williams, Zabien Brown and Daniel Hill each have three years left instead of two, seniors Bray Hubbard, Caleb Woodson, Adam Watford and Desmond Umeozulu have another season of eligibility after 2026 if they want it.
The new rules will not effect seventh-year players Jah-Marien Latham and Kedrick Bingley-Jones, or Lorcan Quinn, the second-year Marshall transfer kicker, who was in the 2019 recruiting class and played five years of Gaelic football before signing with the Thundering Herd.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter or Instagram @colingaytnews.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: NCAA adopts age-based eligibility rules, what it means for Alabama football
Continue reading...
The NCAA Division 1 cabinet announced it will approve an age-based eligibility model instead of the rule that athletes can compete in four seasons across five years with no age restrictions.
The clock begins following a player's high school graduation or after their 19th birthday, whichever comes first, one that gives athletes up to five years of competition during a five-year window instead of a redshirt system.
According to the NCAA, currently enrolled athletes with eligibility remaining after the 2025-26 school year will have the flexibility to either follow this age-based model or continue the previous eligibility rules, whichever is most beneficial.
What NCAA eligibility rule change means for Alabama football
For many members of the Alabama roster, the rule change added an extra year of eligibility.
While Crimson Tide sophomores like Lotzeir Brooks, Dijon Lee Jr., Justin Hill and Michael Carroll have four years left instead of three, and juniors like Ryan Coleman-Williams, Zabien Brown and Daniel Hill each have three years left instead of two, seniors Bray Hubbard, Caleb Woodson, Adam Watford and Desmond Umeozulu have another season of eligibility after 2026 if they want it.
The new rules will not effect seventh-year players Jah-Marien Latham and Kedrick Bingley-Jones, or Lorcan Quinn, the second-year Marshall transfer kicker, who was in the 2019 recruiting class and played five years of Gaelic football before signing with the Thundering Herd.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter or Instagram @colingaytnews.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: NCAA adopts age-based eligibility rules, what it means for Alabama football
Continue reading...
