The NAIA announced on Nov. 4 that the association would expand its eligibility from four complete seasons to five years.

Despite reluctance from Goshen College and other members of the Crossroads League, NAIA athletes will now be able to play for five seasons in a row, allowing the college to compete with NCAA Division II schools.

This comes after NCAA Division II introduced similar legislation in August, following an identical Division I decision

in June.

Until now, athletes could compete in four complete seasons over five years, where a complete season is defined as playing in 20% or more of the total games. In addition, athletes and colleges could appeal to the NAIA to

have seasons disqualified in specific cases.

Now, that entire system has been replaced with a fifth year of eligibility. Commissioner Larry DeSimpelare of the Crossroads League said that the league’s members were mostly cautious about the changes.

“The Crossroads League has always been about prioritizing the student-athlete and their experience,” DeSimpelare said. “I would say philosophically, we do believe that five years is a lot and is probably not the norm.”

“We’re going to be very interested in seeing how this does affect our students and graduation rates and recruitment and retention,” he said. 

Dwight Gingerich, the athletic director and head coach of men’s basketball, agreed that schools are watching the situation closely. He also said that GC is still determining how to proceed.

“I’ve felt personal support from [GC President] Becky Stoltzfus,” Gingerich said. “They want to be supportive. What that means exactly, we haven’t had the chance to talk through yet.”

The NAIA’s rules are different from the NCAA’s fifth-year eligibility, which is age-based. Athletes are only eligible for five years from the date of their high school graduation or their 19th birthday, whichever comes first. The NAIA has no such rule, meaning students could take multiple gap years between any seasons of play.

One major question facing GC is how to financially support a large group of athletes playing a fifth year. In the past, fifth year athletes have been able to receive scholarships, but that might change if the number of athletes increases.

It is not yet clear as to how many student-athletes will choose to stay a fifth year. Deecon Hill, a senior sports management major and guard/forward for the men’s basketball team, said, “We bring it up here and there just because there are a lot of seniors. … It seems like most people aren’t really that serious about taking a fifth year.”

“But, I bet in a couple years it’ll become normal for people to take their fifth year,” he said. DeSimpelare, Gingerich and Hill all agreed it was a bad idea for most students to stay an additional year just to play a sport.

The new NAIA rules allow for students in graduate school to play as well, which may be another way to keep athletes playing for a fifth year. However, the college does not currently offer sports scholarships to

graduate students.

DeSimpelare said, “The biggest detriment to anybody would be if kids are using the education system to not further themselves in education, but just simply to play another year or two of a sport. And then you get further and deeper in debt.”

“When you’re young, you don’t, probably, realize how long it takes to repay a student loan,” he said. “Let’s say you take 12 credit hours towards a master’s that you don’t need or you’re never gonna use. That’s where the largest detriment is gonna come from.”

Gingerich said that while GC was somewhat taken aback due to the plans being delayed for years, it is quickly trying to adapt. He said, “We’re in the process of trying to figure

this out.”