I decided not to play college athletics to focus on academics during undergrad. I know for sure I want to go to graduate school for a masters. I will be applying for Spring 2023/Fall 2024. I would really like to play my sport, during graduate school. Are there any rules against it? For context, I went to undergrad right out of high school so Fall 2020-Spring 2023.
What you do with your free time in grad school is your own business. If you want to play your sport, feel free to do so. Make sure to leave time for classes and classwork, though.
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Check your eligibility. Normally, you have 5 years from when you start college to play 4 seasons. Covid granted athletes another year.
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Nvm
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You’d probably have some eligibility. As mentioned, D1 the rule is 5 years to use 4 years of eligibility. An extra year of each was granted to classes affected by Covid. The clock started when you enrolled as a full time student.
The bigger issue is how realistic it is to resume your sport at a level that’d fit on a college team. Keeping in mind that rosters are swelling with athletes using their extra eligibility.
This is a pretty unusual situation. I’m not sure if you’d need to work with the compliance officer at your school before contacting coaches. You could check with them or theNCAA on that.
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Were you a recruited athlete? Others have already covered the eligibility question. In the Ivy League there had always been a rule against graduate students competing, that is, until Covid. I’d guess that will be reinstated soon.
Depending on the sport, taking off for four years of undergrad could put you at a major disadvantage to try to compete at the NCAA level after the hiatus.
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I was recruited out of high school. When I put myself on the transfer portal, some colleges recruited me as well. I play for fun don’t train like I used to but have a ranking still in the high D3 range or low D1 range. I think if I actually train and play everyday I can pick up mr rankings fast over this summer.
You do need to figure out the eligibility situation. You will not have an extra year of covid eligibility because you weren’t an athlete then, so you will likely have a max of one year eligibility as a graduate student. Go to the AD’s office at your school tomorrow and figure it out for sure, someone there should know the answer with certainty.
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