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Learn › Eligibility clock
How many Division I or II seasons your wrestler has under the NCAA's five-year rule, and what changes it.
The five years start at first full-time enrollment in college or the academic year after the 19th birthday, whichever comes first. Junior college is college: the clock starts there. A year off or a prep year doesn't stop the age trigger.
Division I and Division II use the same clock: Division I for wrestlers first enrolling full time in fall 2027 or later, Division II from 2026-27. Division III, the NAIA and junior college have their own rules.
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Seasons at a Division I or II college
5of 5
The clock starts in fall 2028 and runs five years, through spring 2033.
28–292028–29
D1Division I
29–302029–30
D1Division I
30–312030–31
D1Division I
31–322031–32
D1Division I
32–332032–33
D1Division I
What can pause the clock
Only pregnancy, active-duty military service and official religious missions, and only if the athlete does not compete in organized competition during them. The NCAA Eligibility Center decides. The old eligibility waivers no longer exist.
NCAA: Division I adopts age-based eligibility model, June 23, 2026 NCAA: DI Cabinet modifies age-based eligibility concept, June 5, 2026
A planning estimate, not an eligibility decision. The college's compliance office and the NCAA Eligibility Center decide every case. Rules checked October 18, 2026.