The rise of college sports has been relentless in the past few years. The popularity of sports like women’s volleyball has gone through the roof in the last two years, with teams like Nebraska regularly breaking attendance and viewership records. Already popular sports like gymnastics have also grown, as LSU just broke its season opener record with 12,324 fans at PMAC.

However, insider news about the NCAA considering a new eligibility rule for college athletes has set the sports community abuzz. A Reddit user took the platform to share the news on the r/Gymnastics forum. It was a screenshot from a piece of news by Jon Rothstein, a college basketball insider at CBS. So what was this “landscape changing move,” Rothstein spoke of?

“The NCAA is considering allowing five years of eligibility for players in all sports moving forward, per an NCAA official. The topic will continue to be discussed in early 2025,”  the journalist posted on X. The excerpt from his blog College Hoops Today immediately sparked debate among gymnastics fans, and not everyone seemed excited.

“With five years of eligibility we’re going to have dozens and dozens of seventh (and maybe even eighth years!),” argued a Redditor. That’s because seeing a college athlete compete for five years isn’t so rare even with the current four-year eligibility cycle. Athletes often compete for more than four years, with redshirting often being the most common reason.

However, the number of fifth-years has increased exponentially in the last three years thanks to the COVID-19 waiver. Gymnastics icons such as Olivia Dunne are the perfect example. So, the possibility of redshirt athletes competing for six or more years under the proposed rule didn’t sit right with the fans. “Very silly but NCAA gonna do whatever is most profitable,” he added.

Another fan harped on a similar point. “Oh, the irony…. Just when we thought we were done (with) super seniors,” commented another Redditor. Rothstein himself addressed this point in his vlog. “The 2024-25 season is currently the last year for ‘COVID seniors,'” wrote the journalist. However, the new rule, if implemented, will make it the default. “LOL, at least we can stop calling Covid years,” added the fan. Meanwhile, others mulled over the positives such a rule change could bring.

Gymnastics fans speculating on the likely benefits

While some were against the NCAA’s idea, others explored why the organization would be willing to make such a change. “Is it going to translate to the universities making more money from tuition and room and board from athletes without scholarships vs. providing another year of scholarships to their best athletes who qualify for them? I don’t know,” theorized one fan.

And while no one exactly knew the answer to the question the fan posed, one fan was convicted that the universities would be the ones solely benefiting from an eligibility extension. “The universities want the $$ from all those students spending an extra year there,” argued one Reddit user. However, there’s evidence to argue that athletes would also reap the benefits.

That evidence exists in the form of NIL deals. Ever since the NIL amendment enabled athletes to earn money, the investment, and popularity of college sports have reached new heights. Today, gymnastics athletes such as Olivia Dunne and Jordan Chiles have earned millions thanks to sponsorship and brand deals.

In fact, Olivia Dunne is among the highest-valued NIL athletes in the entirety of college sports. While Livvy finished her four years at LSU valued at $3.9 million, the 22-year-old’s value has gone up after deciding to come back for a fifth year. Right now, Dunne’s valuation stands at $4.2 million. Dunne herself cited the NIL as a major reason to come back for a fifth year.

“I mean brands do like that I’m a student-athlete. I won’t lie,” Livvy Dunne confessed in the Amazon Prime docuseries The Money Game. Another Redditor also explained how an additional year would help the athletes. “I went to an FBS school for my masters and had a bunch of football players in my classes. Their scholarships lasted the whole 5 years,” revealed the r/Gymnastics member.

“Most of the athletes have no shot of making any real money out of their sports and given that quite a few jobs require masters (or a certain amount of course hours that are near equivalent to a masters) might as well make the most of the extra year,” opined the sports fan based on their own experience studying alongside college athletes. So what do you think about the NCAA considering an extra year for athletes? Write your views in the comments.