NCAA Pauses Eligibility Clock Leading to Uncertainty for Recruits
On Friday, the NCAA voted to pause the eligibility clock for football players in the 2020-2021 athletic year. In the release, the NCAA said, “All fall sport student-athletes will receive both an additional year of eligibility and an additional year…
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Continue ReadingOn Friday, the NCAA voted to pause the eligibility clock for football players in the 2020-2021 athletic year. In the release, the NCAA said, “All fall sport student-athletes will receive both an additional year of eligibility and an additional year in which to complete it.” This will effectively give all players a free redshirt year allowing them to play their full-season whether it be in the fall or spring, depending on the conference, without using a year of eligibility. 2020 seniors will be allowed to participate as seniors again in 2021 and continuing down to 2020 freshmen competing as freshmen again in 2021. Thus, creating two full freshmen classes when the newly signed 2021 high school recruits arrive on campus. While it was a crucial decision that was practically necessary to maintain the integrity of the 2020 season and prevent large amounts of college players from opting out, the impact on the high school recruiting landscape could be significant.
The NCAA made it clear that current seniors who have elected to use the free year of eligibility will not count against scholarship limitations in 2021. Though, they have yet to come to a definite decision about roster size for future seasons when this could have a real impact on the recruitment of high school prospects and how scholarships are assigned.
For the 2021 recruiting class, the prospects attending Power 5 programs with large budgets won’t have an issue because those schools will be able to afford the scholarships for all new and returning players whereas the smaller programs might not be as fortunate. It’s possible that recruits who have committed to Group of 5, FCS, or D2 programs that have been decimated by the lack of revenue and frozen budgets, might not see those offers come to fruition. Colleges would then have to make a difficult decision to either give that scholarship to a returning player that they’ve been developing for several years or bring in a fresh high school recruit. Another effect on the class of 2021 is larger depth charts at the college level and longer waits to see the field. As of now, recruits that graduate from high school in December and enroll early will be allowed to play in the spring without losing a year of eligibility. While there are some true freshmen that come in game ready, usually there is a learning curve and adjustment period jumping from high school to any college level. The extra year of eligibility for returning players makes it difficult for newcomers hoping to climb the depth chart quickly.
Many coaches believe that the NCAA will have to compensate the extra year of eligibility with more roster flexibility in the future but the effects could last much longer than next season. One potential issue for future classes is when college teams are forced to go back to the standard number of scholarships pre-covid and the ripple effect that will have on recruiting. If teams are forced to go back to the 85 scholarship limit in 2022, rosters will be squeezed on both ends. The NCAA is giving back the eligibility to returning players but scholarship decisions are left up to the colleges and no athlete is guaranteed financial aid. This puts colleges between a rock and a hard place, requiring coaches to sacrifice their 2022 recruiting class or take a veteran player off scholarship. Experts have said the effects could last for the next five years until all players on the rosters for the 2020-2021 season have exhausted their eligibility.
In remains to be seen how the NCAA will respond to these difficult circumstances both for colleges and recruiting. For better or for worse this decision will without a doubt have an impact on high school recruiting for years to come.