By Izzy Lee

“​​A remarkable 2,270 days after his first college football game, Bryton Barr will finally play his final one Saturday.” —Josh Walfish, Daily Hampshire Gazette

Texas A&M’s Kyle Field. Photo credit: Ed Schipul via Wikimedia Commons.

A typical college athlete can only compete in their sport for the four years of their undergraduate program, according to NCAA rules and regulations. However, not all athletes’ experiences go as smoothly as they might hope. Certain events or experiences cause them to take one or multiple additional years of eligibility in order to take advantage of the full four years of collegiate athletics. Some of these circumstances that have been highlighted in recent years include pandemics, injury, academic and financial assistance, and even redshirting, where players sit out of a season to improve their health, skill, academic, and financial condition. Even though granting a year of eligibility seems like a gift to the players who lost a year due to an external factor, sometimes it is harmful to others coming into those sports programs. 

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, most sporting events were canceled, and players were sent home with the loss of their athletic season. On March 12, 2020, the NCAA canceled all winter and spring seasons for the remainder of the year. The athletes who would have competed in the 2020-2021 season received an extra year of eligibility to replace the year lost from the pandemic. For those who chose to compete another year, “they will have been a member of the team for five years and eligible to receive financial aid to continue their education for a sixth year because their first year of competition didn’t count against their eligibility.” 

Anna Smarelli, a member of the Appalachian State University field hockey team. Photo credit: Appalachian State University.

During the pandemic, Anna Smarelli, a member of the Appalachian State University field hockey team, believed the main purpose behind taking her extra year of eligibility was for “academics. By my senior year, I knew I didn’t want to enter the profession where I was getting my undergraduate degree. Taking my fifth year allowed me the opportunity to get my Master’s degree while receiving athletic aid to help cover the costs.”

Although this was great for those players who were persistent about having a replacement year, other players had to decide if they wanted to pursue a fifth year of school and competition, as college athletics can be grueling and demanding, affecting one’s mental and physical health. Sydney Lee, Smarelli’s teammate (and my sister), ultimately chose not to take her fifth year, as “I was ready to start the next chapter of my life. I wanted to start graduate school for my future career and felt like doing both at the same time would be too difficult. I was ready to be a ‘normal student’ for once. I felt ready to let go of field hockey and move on.”

Sydney Lee, my sister and a member of the Appalachian State University field hockey team. Photo credit: Appalachian State University.

The negative effects of players choosing to take their fifth year of eligibility mostly troubled younger athletes who also wanted to play in college. Due to some players staying an extra year thanks to COVID-19, there was an increase in the number of players on each team. This caused college coaches to search for fewer players to fill their recruiting classes from 2022 and 2023 high school graduates, as there were fewer spots. Additionally, there would be a recruitment delay, as the pandemic instilled a “dead period” into recruiting. A dead period prevents coaches from “having face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents, and [coaches] may not watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools.” The dead period during COVID-19 began in March 2020 and lasted until June 1, 2021. 

Before the pandemic, college coaches were actively allowed to watch you play in high school before the date they could contact you or have face-to-face interaction. Although policies are different for each sport, in field hockey, a coach cannot contact or make verbal offers until June 15 after a student’s sophomore year. These athletes also cannot pursue official or unofficial college visits until August 1 of their junior year.

I am a student-athlete in the high school class of 2023 and sought to play field hockey at the Division I level. As an athlete who went through the recruiting process in 2021, I was affected by the pandemic and the dead period. College coaches couldn’t watch me play in tournaments until June 2021, and I had to settle for sending them film of me playing instead. COVID-19 made it extremely difficult to participate in tournaments in general, as there were limited opportunities to showcase my skills. Often, tournaments were canceled because hosts were advised not to gather in large numbers. After finally communicating with coaches after June 15, 2021, I had to ask relevant questions, such as if any of their players were planning on taking their fifth year, which players going through the normal process wouldn’t need to ask.

The transfer portal was another controversial aspect of NCAA athletics affected by the coronavirus and extra years of eligibility. College coaches often choose to have a player from another college come play for them in their fifth year rather, than keeping the extra spot for their incoming recruiting classes. College coaches selected these players, as they were “reliable student-athletes who have already proven that they can play competitively at the collegiate level and manage their academics.” 

Besides the pandemic, other circumstances allow players more years of eligibility. For example, players can earn extra years due to injury, needing academic or financial assistance, and natural disasters. 

Bryton Barr. Photo credit: UMass Athletics.

Bryton Barr, the seven-year college football player for Towson and Massachusetts, suffered from multiple season-ending injuries that allowed him to request extra years of eligibility to replace the ones he lost. After being unable to play for three consecutive seasons from 2013-2015, he appealed for two extra years of eligibility. He was eligible to have these extra years, as he didn’t play in more than three games in his three seasons with injuries. 

Some people might think it is a rare circumstance for a player to want to play in the NCAA for over seven years, as people’s bodies might not be able to handle the wear and tear, and it would continue the cycle of getting hurt. However, multiple players, such as football players Tony Morales and Deontae Cooper, have all taken seven years to compete in collegiate athletics. 

Whitman College fifth-year basketball player Anna Forge lost her junior year to injury back in 2009-2010, and in an article in the Whitman Wire in 2012, she explained why these players want to continue their athletics career: “Not much is available for us after we graduate . . . I wanted to make sure that I used my full eligibility, because this level of competition might be the highest I ever get to experience, so why waste it?”

Not only do natural disasters and injury affect a player’s NCAA eligibility, but a player’s academics have a vital role in whether they can participate that season. A player must maintain a 2.3 GPA throughout their high school and college years to play in the NCAA. Along with successful grades, a player must take at least 16 courses during their undergraduate and secondary education. 

The debate over college athletes’ eligibility continues. The decision of whether or not players decide to take these extra years of eligibility will constantly be contested, as mental health becomes talked about on a larger scale in sports. With the pressures of college sports, players may no longer be able to physically and mentally handle the demand of collegiate athletics in the future for five or more years.

Featured image courtesy of the NCAA.