With the NCAA Division I cabinet unanimously voting to pass the age-based eligibility rule (five-for-five), the landscape of college athletics has shifted dramatically.
Under the new regulations, redshirt years and waivers are being replaced by a universal standard across all sports — every college athlete will have five years to play five seasons, with rare exceptions for military service, religious reasons or pregnancy.
The five-year window begins either when the player enrolls in college or the first school year after they turn 19, whichever comes first, and runs continuously, meaning no athlete will compete past the age of 23 without a special exemption.
This won’t take full effect immediately — the class of 2027 is the first where five-for-five is mandated, but current and incoming class of 2026 athletes have a choice between the previous model and the five-for-five, so athletes who have already been granted their sixth, seventh or eighth seasons (Penn State defensive tackle Siale Taupaki) before this year are safe.
However, athletes who exhausted their fourth year of eligibility in the 2025-26 school year (men’s basketball’s Josh Reed, for example) get the short end of the stick and will not be granted a fifth season for the upcoming school year. There’s a chance this point gets appealed in court, but it remains the current ruling.
For Penn State specifically, that means any players who haven’t used their redshirt will still be granted a fifth season — anyone entering 2026-27 as a true senior (fourth-year) can still return for another season if they choose to do so. Here’s a list of notable Nittany Lions who fit that criteria and can now return for the 2027-28 school year.
- Jamison Patton (football)
- Zion Tracy (football)
- Kooper Ebel (football)
- Ben Brahmer (football)
- Carson Hansen (football)
- Casey Aman (men’s hockey)
- Dane Dowiak (men’s hockey)
- Reese Laubach (men’s hockey)
- Mac Gadowsky (men’s hockey)
- Braedan Davis (wrestling)
- Masanosuke Ono (wrestling)
- Kennedy Martin (women’s volleyball)
- Jocelyn Nathan (women’s volleyball)
- Aubrey Kulpa (women’s soccer)
- Brooke Klosowicz (softball)
- McKenna Young (softball)
- Bridget Namath (softball)
- Kyle Lehman (men’s lacrosse)
Additionally, athletes entering their true freshman, sophomore or junior seasons, plus all incoming future classes, are universally eligible for a fifth year of competition. The list above highlights only the rising seniors who now have an unexpected fifth-year option secured.
Additionally, the ruling will change the abuse of redshirts, which allowed teams to stockpile talent without burning eligibility (particularly wrestling). It’ll also change the way teams use their younger players.
Often in football, freshmen would see the field for limited snaps in exactly four games before sitting the rest of the year, the maximum amount of appearances allowed to maintain redshirt status. With the changes, freshmen can earn their way into more early playing time without worrying about losing a season of eligibility for appearing in five or more games.
In other sports, which didn’t provide four games of leeway, talented freshmen will be more likely to see the field in any capacity, gaining valuable game experience instead of attempting to redshirt. In addition to improving their opportunities to play, it also provides more depth for teams with smaller rosters, or gives more personnel choices during garbage time.
And of course, former Nittany Lion Carter Starocci’s NCAA record of five individual national championships will now be more attainable to match for future athletes, though still extremely difficult.
