COVID-19 cut National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes’ sports season in half. For this reason, the NAIA board of directors granted all athletes who played in a college sport during the heat of the pandemic an extra year of eligibility. Normally, student-athletes are given four years of eligibility. If a major takes longer than four years to complete, that has no effect on playing time. It is still limited to four years.
However, with this groundbreaking decision, athletes other than those who were injured or red-shirted, are given the opportunity to play for a fifth year. The NAIA board of directors were not the only ones to make this decision. This new rule applies to all colleges, DI through NAIA, a fifth year. Players are then kept on scholarship in order to redeem their COVID season.
John Brown University athletes have already began taking advantage of the recent rule change. COVID cut short the JBU men’s basketball season in 2020. The team had made it to the national tournament. However, their chances at winning a national title were taken away when the country went into lockdown and students were sent home.
The men’s basketball covid season leaked over into 2021. The number of games they were allowed to play was cut in half.
Fifth year men’s basketball player Densier Carnes said, “It took away nationals from my junior year season. Senior year we started later than usual, barely practiced, and were 10 games behind from some teams when we finally got to play. Half of our starting lineup was out with COVID right when we started the season, and as a team, we weren’t able to get in to game shape.”
This discrepancy in their season led Carnes to seek out his fifth year. There is one requirement for the fifth year. Carnes explained that, in order to take up a fifth year, the athlete must enter a graduate program at the university or declare another major. He is now attending JBU’s graduate program, pursuing a Master of Science in leadership.
Carnes is thankful for the extra year. “I want to win the conference championship. I want to be an All American,” he said. “I want to take full advantage of the opportunity I have to build on the relationships with my brothers on the team.”
Vanessa Reynoso, from the women’s soccer team, is another student athlete who followed the same path as Carnes. Reynoso decided to take up her fifth year and enter JBU’s graduate program.
“I chose to start grad school. It was definitely a God thing how it all worked out because I was undecided about going or not going” Reynoso said. “Getting it paid for while playing soccer is a blessing.”