NCAA Division I Council Recommends Extra Year of Eligibility for All Fall Sports Athletes

The NCAA will vote on the recommendation on Friday

The NCAA Division I Council issued a recommendation to give all fall sports athletes an additional year of eligibility. 

The recommendation would allow for a blanket year to be added upon every athlete's current five-year (with a redshirt) window of eligibility to play an NCAA sport.  

"Members also recommended the board give all fall sport student-athletes both an additional year of eligibility and an additional year in which to complete it, a recommendation that is even more flexible than what it endorsed last week," the council's written statement said.

It also calls for the extension of scholarship aid to players granted an extra year. 

"The financial aid of fall sport senior student-athletes who take advantage of the additional year of eligibility and extended clock should not count against team limits in 2021-22," the council's written statement said. 

This would obviously be blockbuster news in the world of college football. If the NCAA were to vote the recommendations in as is, the Texas Longhorns could get back players like Sam Ehlinger (should he not declare for the NFL Draft), Chris Brown, Ta'Quan Graham, Tope Imade, Derek Kerstetter, Denzel Okafor and Cade Brewer for the 2021 season. 

For the classes under them it basically amounts to a free year of football that won't be counted against their eligibility window. 

There will be far-reaching ramifications should this pass through the NCAA committee later this week. We will continue to follow the story as we get details. 

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