What Does the NCAA Extra Year of Eligibility Mean for Recruiting?

[ORUTerry]

Here is a site that goes through the prospective effects of the NCAA treating this year as a 'ghost' season in regards to eligibility. Essentially, every player gets an extra year of eligibility - like a red-shirt year. Seniors can play next year, if the school decides to follow that protocol. (They don't have to.)

Link:    https://www.ncsasports.org/coronavirus-sports/ncaa-eligibility-coronavirus

 

(excerpts)

Traditionally, a student-athlete has 5 years to play 4 years of their sport. An extra year means a current college student-athlete would have 6 years to play their 4 years. This means, NCAA student-athletes can compete in all or a portion of the 2020-21 season, but it won’t be counted against their years of eligibility depending on their division level specific eligibility rules.

For D1 fall (does not mention Spring, but have to assume it is the same?) sports, seniors who have scholarships and who will be using the extra year of eligibility will not count against the team’s scholarship limit for the 2021-22 season...... The determining factor is whether or not a school can afford to give scholarships over the maximum. 

 

 

 

 

[ORUJason]

Scholarships in and of themselves are not that expensive.  The board portion of room and board is a real expense paid by the university to the food provider.  Extra players on a team would lead to some extra travel expenses of course.  But the academic and room portion of a scholarship is more of a paper expense within departmental budgets at a university rather than a real cost.

It would only become a real cost if every single room in every men’s or women’s dorm was completely full and ORU would have lost that room revenue from another student who would have filled that room instead but wasn’t able to do so.  This situation does not currently exist at ORU.  Neither is there likely a situation where an additional professor had to be hired because some extra scholarshipped athletes stuck around for another year.

I would think that ORU would welcome the opportunity to have additional scholarshipped athletes because it could make their teams more competitive for a small additional expense without breaking any rules.