14.2.1.5 Five-Year Rule Waiver. The Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement, or its designated committee, by a two-thirds majority of its members present and voting, may approve waivers of the five-year rule as
it deems appropriate. (Revised: 7/30/10)
14.2.1.5.1 Waiver Criteria. A waiver of the five-year period of eligibility is designed to provide a studentathlete with the opportunity to participate in four seasons of intercollegiate competition within a five-year
period. This waiver may be granted, based upon objective evidence, for reasons that are beyond the control
of the student-athlete or the institution, which deprive the student-athlete of the opportunity to participate
for more than one season in his/her sport within the five-year period. The Committee on Student-Athlete
Reinstatement reserves the right to review requests that do not meet the more-than-one-year criteria detailed in this bylaw for circumstances of extraordinary or extreme hardship. A student-athlete who has
exhausted his or her five years of eligibility may continue to practice (but not compete) for a maximum of
30 consecutive calendar days, provided the student-athlete’s institution has submitted a waiver request. The
student-athlete may not commence practice until the institution has filed such a request. Further, if such a
request is denied prior to exhausting the 30-day practice period, the student-athlete must cease all practice
activities upon the institution’s notification of the denial. (Revised: 4/17/91, 1/11/94, 8/10/94, 10/12/95,
4/27/00, 7/30/10)
14.2.1.5.1.1 Circumstances Beyond Control. Circumstances considered to be beyond the control of the student-athlete or the institution and do not cause a participation opportunity to be used
shall include, but are not limited to, the following: (Adopted: 8/10/94, Revised: 10/12/95, 7/30/10)
(a) Situations clearly supported by contemporaneous medical documentation, which states that a
student-athlete is unable to participate in intercollegiate competition as a result of incapacitating
physical or mental circumstances;
(b) The student-athlete is unable to participate in intercollegiate athletics as a result of a life-threatening or incapacitating injury or illness suffered by a member of the student-athlete’s immediate family, which clearly is supported by contemporaneous medical documentation; (Revised:
1/9/06)
(c) Reliance by the student-athlete upon written, contemporaneous, clearly erroneous academic
advice provided to the student-athlete from a specific academic authority from a collegiate institution regarding the academic status of the student-athlete or prospective student-athlete, which
directly leads to that individual not being eligible to participate and, but for the clearly erroneous advice, the student-athlete would have established eligibility for intercollegiate competition;
(Revised: 10/9/96)
(d) Natural disasters (e.g., earthquake, flood); and
(e) Extreme financial difficulties as a result of a specific event (e.g., layoff, death in the family)
experienced by the student-athlete or by an individual upon whom the student-athlete is legally dependent, which prohibit the student-athlete from participating in intercollegiate athletics. These circumstances must be clearly supported by objective documentation (e.g., decree of
bankruptcy, proof of termination) and must be beyond the control of the student-athlete or the
individual upon whom the student-athlete is legally dependent. (Adopted: 10/12/95, Revised:
8/12/97)
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