NCAA D-II Executives Officially Vote to Adopt Age-Based Eligibility

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — The NCAA Division II Executive Board has approved an age-based eligibility model that will change how student-athletes establish their eligibility beginning in future seasons.

The executive board voted on the decision on Tuesday, Aug. 6.

Under the new policy, an athlete's eligibility clock will begin at either initial full-time college enrollment or the start of the regular academic year immediately following the athlete's 19th birthday, whichever occurs first. Student-athletes will be allowed five seasons of competition over a five-year period.

The change replaces Division II's previous eligibility rule, which allowed athletes four seasons of competition to be completed within their first 10 semesters or 15 quarters of full-time enrollment.

The decision follows the adoption of a similar age-based model in Division I on June 23 and comes amid a series of lawsuits challenging the NCAA's eligibility rules.

Several lawsuits have been filed in state and federal courts by athletes who graduated from high school in 2022 and exhausted their four seasons of eligibility during the 2025-26 academic year. The athletes argue they were unfairly denied a fifth season of competition under the new rules.

On July 31, a federal judge in Denver ruled that members of the high school class of 2022 who exhausted their fourth season of eligibility this spring are eligible for a fifth season during the 2026-27 academic year.

The NCAA has announced its intention to appeal that ruling.