NCAA Recruiting Rules & What's Changing

New

Five years to play five, and the redshirt is gone

Division I's new model gives you five years to play five seasons. The old model gave you five years to play four (four seasons plus a redshirt year), and the redshirt and season-of-competition rules are now eliminated. Your five-year clock starts at whichever comes first: your first full-time college enrollment at any school (including a junior college, NAIA, or international school), or the academic year after your 19th birthday.

• Division I only. Division II, Division III, and the NAIA have not adopted this, so they stay on their existing models for now.
• JUCO and NAIA time counts. Full-time enrollment anywhere starts your Division I clock, and those years count toward NCAA eligibility. This is a common point of confusion (the Diego Pavia case).
• Injury does NOT pause the clock. The only things that pause it are active-duty military service, an official religious mission, or pregnancy and maternity.
• If you first enroll fall 2026, or you are already in college with eligibility left, schools apply whichever model (old or new) is more favorable to you. It is mandatory only for first-time enrollees in fall 2027 and later.
• Current college players may gain an extra year of eligibility, which tightens the funnel for incoming high school classes competing for the same roster spots.

Adopted June 23, 2026. Still being litigated and expected to be fought over the coming months. Current as of July 2026 and subject to change.

What's changing with the transfer portal

Landscape context, not an action item, but it shapes how many roster spots actually open up for high school players.

• One winter window. Football moved to a single winter transfer window (the spring window was eliminated in 2025). The 2026 window ran January 2 to 16, which is 15 days.
• A shorter window is proposed, not yet in effect. The FBS Oversight Committee has proposed cutting the winter window from 15 days to 10. It is pending a final vote in August 2026 and would only take effect in January 2027 if approved. For now, the 15-day window stands.
• Enter in the window, commit anytime. Players enter the portal during the window but can commit or transfer to a new school at any point after. Someone who entered in January can still be uncommitted months later and sign then.

Bottom line for HS players: more proven transfers cycle through rosters every year. The response is to start relationships early and stand out, not to chase the portal.