August 5th, 2026 2:00pm
From NCAA.org
The NCAA Division II Executive Board adopted emergency legislation to establish an age-based eligibility model as recommended by the Management Council in July.
The NCAA Division II age-based eligibility rules mirror the legislation adopted by Division I and establish a five-year period of eligibility. Under this model, a student-athlete’s period of eligibility begins at the earlier of these two events: full-time enrollment at any college or university — domestic or international, including junior colleges; or the beginning of the regular academic year immediately after the student’s 19th birthday.
This shifts the Division II eligibility rules from a seasons-of-competition and semester/quarter model that included multiple waivers and exceptions to a five-year period of eligibility tied to age and college enrollment.
The rule change is effective immediately for the 2026-27 academic year.
Student-athletes whose eligibility is exhausted under previous rules ― four seasons of competition within 10 semesters/15 quarters ― will not have additional eligibility.
“As Division II has continued to determine a path forward for a Division II eligibility model, it has been clear that any rule change should apply going forward, and not retroactively to student-athletes whose eligibility has been completed prior to the adoption of the change,” the Division II Executive Board and Management Council said in a joint statement. “Student-athletes who exhausted their eligibility by 2025-26 have received the full period of eligibility permitted by NCAA bylaws and the life-changing benefits college sports provides. Giving student-athletes another season would disrupt expected roster spots and playing time ahead of the upcoming seasons and alter financial aid packages for countless student-athletes, including incoming freshmen who are beginning (or have begun) their college athletics experience.”
For current student-athletes with eligibility remaining under the previous rules, compliance staff on campus will work with each student-athlete to determine which model results in the most favorable outcome for the individual student-athlete.
Prospective student-athletes who are initially enrolling at NCAA schools during the 2026-27 academic year, including those who have already turned 19, will be evaluated by the NCAA Eligibility Center, and schools will apply whichever model results in the most favorable outcome for that individual. Prospects who initially enroll full time at any college in fall 2027 or later will be subject to the age-based model only.
There are three exceptions available to student-athletes under this rule that may delay or pause the five-year period of eligibility: pregnancy, active-duty military service and official religious missions.
All three exceptions will be administered by the Eligibility Center.