By Chris Marler
In a shocking turn, the NCAA agreed to do something to benefit student-athletes.
Sure, that is one of the main points of their existence, but it seems rare that their decisions are rooted in those core “beliefs.”
Regardless, the NCAA Board of Directors did just that when they agreed to a waiver for junior college transfers seeking an additional year of eligibility, most notably Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, which stems from the quarterback suing the organization over its eligibility rules and requirements.
Thanks to the ruling from the NCAA, Pavia will receive a sixth season of eligibility.
It’s fantastic that college football fans get another year of someone as fun and exciting as Diego Pavia. It also continues to create an eligibility issue that is creating a massive logjam for student-athletes. It’s also creating an enormous disturbance in the recruiting ecosystem and unforeseen obstacles for prospective high school athletes.
Think about these current numbers of eligible football student-athletes.
There are over 7,000 players currently in the NCAA Transfer Portal.
There are over 4,500 FBS and FCS scholarship players in the portal.
Players are still getting extra eligibility from the COVID year, and now JUCO players are also being granted an additional year.
Filling rosters with older players for additional years mathematically eliminates opportunities for high school recruits. It’s almost impossible to quantify what this will do for the four-and-five-year eligibility cycle but it will certainly come at a cost.
While we cheer for Pavia’s additional opportunity, we need to ask, at what cost?
