Redshirting is a practice that allows athletes to defer play for a season, granting them an additional year of eligibility. Within the Patriot League, the future of redshirting is up for debate.
Currently, the Patriot League only allows medical redshirting. The requirements are that an athlete must suffer a season-ending injury or sickness before they’ve participated in more than 30% of their team’s scheduled games and before the midway point of the season.
Taryn Gall, Lehigh’s associate athletic director for compliance and administration, said the league requires athletes looking to medically redshirt to meet the requirements of the NCAA Medical Hardship Manual for their injury or illness.
In order to apply the athlete and their school must provide the NCAA with medical documentation. Then, the NCAA decides whether or not the player’s hardship warrants a redshirt.
Gall said Patriot League schools are academically driven, requiring four years of undergraduate education for a degree, which aligns with the four years of athletic eligibility student-athletes are given.
Ryan Hess, the associate head coach of Lehigh men’s soccer, said the league’s rules regarding redshirting align with the academic and equity policies amongst the participating schools.
“That four year college experience mission is something that I think the league believes in,” Hess said.
Gall said the development of the rules came about because these institutions are primarily based on four year educational models. She said the league wants to ensure all student-athletes are focused on their academics without having to make sacrifices.
The league includes both universities and colleges, which have different postgraduate-programs and requirements.
If an athlete is granted a medical redshirt, the rules for their additional year of eligibility can differ, which Gall said is because the school they currently attend in or wish to enroll in determines if they can use their eligibility.
She also said if a student-athlete meets an exception for the league, they can work through a waiver process to utilize a year of eligibility in a fifth year.
There are limitations and controls on an athlete’s use of their additional year of eligibility within the league, which Hess said includes a need to be completing an academic endeavor, like a double major or a master’s degree.
Hess said some athletes may need additional time to finish their undergraduate programs. This reveals the many academic paths a student-athlete can take when hoping to use their additional year of eligibility within the league.
The league’s rules and policies are constantly under review, as they want to do what’s best for the growth and development of the conference.
In May 2024, the Patriot League announced Richmond University would be joining as an associate member for football.
This addition sparked conversations about the future of the league and, specifically, how their policies about redshirting may change.
“There’s a lot of discussions happening in the Patriot League,” head football coach Kevin Cahill said. “With the addition of Richmond coming in, clearly there’s some growth happening within our league for the football side of things.”
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