The NCAA Division I Administrative Committee announced that it will maintain its current eligibility policy, allowing student-athletes to compete in no more than four seasons within a five-year period through at least the 2026–27 academic year.

This decision comes after ten college athletes, including Vanderbilt football players Langston Patterson and Issa Ouattara, filed a lawsuit in September challenging the long-standing rule. The athletes argued that all student-athletes should have the right to compete for five full seasons of eligibility.

In a statement, Josh Whitman, chair of the Division I Cabinet and athletics director at the University of Illinois, confirmed the committee’s stance:

“The Cabinet determined that, for the remainder of the current academic year and for the rosters competing during the 2026–27 academic year, it will maintain existing eligibility rules as they pertain to student-athletes competing in no more than four seasons of athletics competition in a particular sport over a consecutive five-year period.”

Whitman added that while the Cabinet is continuing to study potential policy changes, the current rules have been upheld by most courts when challenged. He emphasized the ongoing uncertainty caused by temporary court rulings and said that Congress remains the best forum to create consistent national standards for college sports.

“Congress continues to be the best forum to protect these eligibility rules and other academic standards, while providing clarity for current and future student-athletes,” Whitman said. “We need bipartisan legislation that empowers college sports to set these basic rules that support academics as a foundational purpose of collegiate athletics.”

The ruling ensures that for now, student-athletes’ eligibility clocks remain unchanged, meaning their participation in collegiate athletics will still be capped at four competitive seasons within a five-year window.

As legal challenges continue and more athletes advocate for extended eligibility, particularly in the wake of redshirt years, medical exemptions, and COVID-era extensions, the NCAA’s decision signals that major reform may not come until after 2027.