Are redshirts gone? Yes — here's what replaces them

Short answer: the redshirt is dead. The NCAA's new five-year, age-based model removes the redshirt year, the four-seasons-in-five cap, and the medical/injury waiver.

Why the redshirt existed — and why it's gone

Under the old rules you had four seasons of competition to use inside a five-year clock. The extra year let you "redshirt": practice with the team but not compete, preserving a season for later. That math no longer exists. The new model simply gives you five years of eligibility and lets you compete in all five — so there's nothing to preserve. A year you sit out isn't banked; it just passes on the clock.

What this changes in practice

• No "true freshman vs redshirt freshman." Everyone is simply on year one, two, three, four or five.
• Sitting out costs you. Injuries, transfers and benchings burn clock without giving anything back.
• No medical bailout. The injury waiver that used to recover a lost season is gone.

Use the eligibility checker to see exactly how many years you have left under the new clock.

Current athletes and 2026 enrollees keep access to the old redshirt math if it leaves them more eligibility — see current athletes.