INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The NCAA Division II Executive Board has adopted a major change to eligibility rules for student-athletes, establishing a five-year period of eligibility and an age-based model to mirror legislation adopted earlier this summer by Division I.

Moving forward, NCAA Division II student-athletes will have five full years of eligibility to compete. Under the new model, a student-athlete's period of eligibility begins at the earlier of these two events: full-time enrollment at any college or university — domestic or international, including junior colleges; or the beginning of the regular academic year immediately after the student's 19th birthday.

This shifts the Division II eligibility rules from a seasons-of-competition and semester/quarter model that included multiple waivers and exceptions to a five-year period of eligibility tied to age and college enrollment.

The rule change is effective immediately for the 2026-27 academic year. Student-athletes whose eligibility is exhausted under previous rules ― four seasons of competition within 10 semesters/15 quarters ― will not have additional eligibility.

"I am very excited about what the new five-year eligibility model will bring to Division II," said Mines Director of Athletics David Hansburg. "It will encourage student-athletes to graduate, perhaps with an advanced degree, within a reasonable time frame. It will simplify and lessen the workload for compliance personnel. It will raise the integrity of our Division II brand and our championships by eliminating loopholes that allowed non-college aged and former professionals to participate on our teams. This will further strengthen the fact that competing in D-II is what college sports is supposed to be all about."

The eligibility model simplifies exceptions, eliminating redshirt years and hardship waivers with three exceptions: pregnancy, active-duty military service, and official religious missions.

For current student-athletes with eligibility remaining under the previous rules, compliance staff will work with each student-athlete to determine which model results in the most favorable outcome for the individual student-athlete. Prospects who are initially enrolling at NCAA schools during the 2026-27 academic year (including those who have already turned 19) will be evaluated by the NCAA Eligibility Center, and schools will apply whichever model results in the most favorable outcome for that individual.

Any Mines active or prospective student-athlete with questions about eligibility should contact associate athletic director Dixie Cirillo at dcirillo@mines.edu. For more information, visit ncaa.org.