NCAA Expected To Vote On Age-Based Eligibility Model In June, But Hockey Pushes Back

The NCAA Division I Cabinet met on Friday to discuss the implementation of the proposed age-based eligibility model, and while there wasn’t a formal vote, all signs point towards one coming next month.

Although there was a chance for the vote to happen during last week’s meeting, some insiders are reporting that the “delay” is strategic, with the NCAA expecting legal battles if and when it’s passed.

NIL attorney Ryan Mulvaney said he’s heard from multiple college athletes who recently exhausted their eligibility, along with coaches, who believe it’s “fundamentally unfair” that they won’t be able to benefit from the five-year eligibility rule, but both past (COVID fifth-year), current and future student-athletes will.

I think we all anticipate litigation on this issue once voted on though, let’s be honest here, the NCAA’s delay in today’s vote is indeed with strategic purpose.

I’ve heard from several college athletes whose eligibility expired in 2026 – they AND COACHES are inquiring about the… https://t.co/3s69loh8FN

— Ryan P. Mulvaney (@ryanpmulvaney) May 23, 2026

In addition to the delayed vote, there has also been pushback on the proposed eligibility change from ice hockey, which argues that, due to its unique development pathway, moving to the five-in-five model would damage the sport’s pipeline.

Unlike other sports, the majority of NCAA hockey players spend a few seasons in junior leagues, most commonly the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) or the United States Hockey League (USHL), and then make the jump to the NCAA, usually in their early 20s (compared to other sports joining immediately at 18 or 19).

Heather Weems, commissioner of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, told Front Office Sports (FOS) that in 2025, 99% of first-year players across the 63 D-I men’s programs came from junior leagues. “It’s not an anomaly,” Weems told FOS. “It’s not a loophole.”

Mike McMahon of “College Hockey Insider” told FOS that 80% of the 509 freshmen this past season were 20 or 21 when the season started.

A group of hockey stakeholders, including the six college hockey conference commissioners and reps from the NHL, AHL, USA Hockey, College Hockey Inc., CHL, and USHL, have come together, putting together a whitepaper documenting the success of the hockey pipeline and how the proposed rule would impact it.

“I think it goes to show how much it would interrupt the hockey ecosystem for players at that age,” McMahon told FOS regarding the rarity to see all of the key stakeholders in the sport come together.

Weems added: “While we want to be good partners with the NCAA, we also feel like we have a responsibility to the sport of hockey and our developmental pathway. We just didn’t want to be collateral damage because our system is just fundamentally different.”

The group of stakeholders also offered a counterproposal to the NCAA’s age-based eligibility model: beginning the five-year eligibility clock at age 19 or the start of college enrollment, whichever comes first, rather than the current proposal, which is age 19 or graduating high school, whichever comes first. That would at least give players an extra year if they choose to go to the CHL or USHL.

According to FOS, hockey is working the phones to try and gain allies with the vote possibly on the horizon.

With the vote potentially in late June, hockey is seizing the time to lobby allies. That has already included phone calls to members of the Division I Cabinet, meetings with the NCAA general counsel, and outreach to leaders in other sports that might benefit from an adjusted proposal. The Big Ten, which is the only multisport conference that plays D-I college hockey, may be specifically helpful in building bridges.

-FOS

The NCAA issued a press release on Friday, detailing the Division I Cabinet meeting and reiterating the rules for the age-based eligibility model if it were to pass.

The new model would give student-athletes five full years of eligibility, with their clock beginning at the time of their 19th birthday or high school graduation, whichever is earlier.

It also clamps down on redshirt seasons and waiver requests.

“Under the age-based model, waivers would no longer be available to extend eligibility, with exceptions for pregnancy, official religious missions and active-duty military service, provided the student-athlete does not participate in organized competition,” the NCAA said in its release.

Currently, student-athletes have a five-year eligibility clock to complete four seasons of competition, with the option to regain a season of eligibility through a redshirt or waiver request.

The NCAA specifically laid out how the rules would impact different student-athletes:

• Student-athletes whose fourth season of collegiate eligibility was completed by spring 2026: No additional eligibility.
• Currently enrolled student-athletes with eligibility remaining after the 2025-26 academic year: Flexibility for schools to apply the age-based model or continue with the previous eligibility rules (four seasons to compete with five total years of eligibility), whichever is most beneficial to that individual.
• Prospects expected to graduate from high school in spring 2027: Age-based model only.
• Prospects expected to graduate from high school in spring 2026, regardless of planned enrollment date: Age-based model only.
• Prospects who graduated prior to spring 2026 and have not enrolled: The NCAA Eligibility Center will review the prospect’s individual circumstances and apply the age-based model or existing delayed enrollment eligibility rules, whichever is most beneficial to that individual.

“For schools with current student-athletes who may be eligible for hardship waivers or extensions of eligibility, the Cabinet indicated that the deadline to submit any waiver requests to NCAA staff is July 31,” the NCAA said. “After that date, waivers would no longer be available for current student-athletes or prospects.”