Five Year Play

Dienhart, Tom. "When It Comes To Eligibility, More is Better." Sporting News 226.30 (2002): 42. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 9 Nov. 2010.

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Tom Dienhart looked into the red-shirt problem with players and coaches. He wrote: “No matter who you are or what you do, you are always looking for more time.” Players are currently allowed 5 years to play 4 seasons Dienhart goes on. Dienhart compares playing football on the field with having more time to study, rest, and work. He says, “We all could benefit from more time.” The problem with red-shirting kids is that you cannot play them that year, and they are not getting the experience they need when walking onto the football field for the first time. Coach Mark Richt says he would have played D.J. Shockley at any time of the year Richt thought it was a good time, but he didn’t play Shockley so he could retain his red-shirt. Dan McCarney, Iowa State head coach, says, “When you are playing, your morals and attitude are good and it carries over to academics.” Tom Dienhart continues the discussion of allowing players to play 5 years instead of 4. “The concern with letting players play in 5 years instead of 4,” Tom continues, “is that players would be able to break NCAA records more easily.”

With 5 years of play time, players have time to grow as an athlete and a student. There are some pros and cons to the decision though. An example with an advantage of dropping the red-shirt season and adding another eligible season is that it will help players learn better because they will get more experience. Also with recent studies, student athletes that get playing do better in academically, work harder, and as a result graduation rates will increase. On the other hand Tom Dienhart points out some details with the five years of play time eligibility that may cause problems. With a another year of play time some people seem to think that coaches may not play freshman that are talented and instead play older players with more experienced player. As a result of players not getting any on the field play time, players tend to leave the team. As for records, with an extra year athletes will definitely break NCAA records Dienhart insists. His response to the record is in the early 1970s eligibility went from 3 years to 4.