D-III transfer to D-I gets 5 years?

[Dave Mc]

I met a boy once that played one year at a D-III school, then 4 years at a D-I school. At first glance, that would seem to violate the 4-year eligibility rule. However, in his second year at the D-I school, he only played the individual fall events, and played no dual matches that spring but instead was listed as injured. I understand that D-III has it's own set of eligibility requirements, and transferring to D-I has a complex set of rules. I don't really know the boy or his family well enough to ask, but I'm just curious if it's possible that he discovered that there was an eligibility issue at the D-I school, and intentionally sat out that second spring to avoid violating rules, and keep his eligibility clean for his last 2 years. If so, it was probably a smart move.

[Coach Carter]

Originally Posted by Dave Mc

I met a boy once that played one year at a D-III school, then 4 years at a D-I school. At first glance, that would seem to violate the 4-year eligibility rule. However, in his second year at the D-I school, he only played the individual fall events, and played no dual matches that spring but instead was listed as injured. I understand that D-III has it's own set of eligibility requirements, and transferring to D-I has a complex set of rules. I don't really know the boy or his family well enough to ask, but I'm just curious if it's possible that he discovered that there was an eligibility issue at the D-I school, and intentionally sat out that second spring to avoid violating rules, and keep his eligibility clean for his last 2 years. If so, it was probably a smart move.

I would have to believe that by our normal rules..."if he actually played in the fall individual events" that would burn a year of eligibility. That being said, they may have been able to "redshirt" him, whether medically or some other method. Seems tough to believe that he actually got to play 5 spring/team seasons.

[Kal-El 34]

you can play the fall season and if injured, miss the spring season without using eligibility. that is decided on a case by case basis. We had a foreign guy on my team who did this as well. he would have been red-shirt for the spring. the fall season is usually small, with no (or few) duals and mostly tournament play

[Coach Carter]

yes, you can petition for a medical red-shirt which would work, but that kind of stuff gets real "gray" and can get some hackles up between athletic departments.