Update on Jana, Ice, and Morgan

[stamfordhusky]

Some players have gotten a sixth year (e.g., Jamie Carey, Ali Patberg) by petitioning the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement on the basis of some extraordinary medical or other hardship ground. But it's very rare.

Note that players getting a 6th year has become more common than it was five or ten years ago. That is especially true when the player is asking for a 6th year due to losing two seasons due to serious injuries. Less likely to be granted if one of the lost seasons was due to a player voluntarily sitting out a year (a true redshirt) for developmental purposes. Or, less likely these days, if a player had to sit a year due to transfer rules.

 

[ec33]

Daniel Connolly, who wrote this, seems to be confused (either substantively or terminologically) about Brady's redshirting and eligibility, primarily because of the dependent clause I've bolded. (Similarly, Maggie Vanoni was outright wrong in what she wrote on January 8 about Malou-Mamel's ability to redshirt this season.)

Let me try to explain the rules another way, focusing on the 5-year window.

Brady is already eligible for a redshirt for the season she sat out during her first calendar year. Sure, if she suffered a medically documented, season-ending injury in UConn's first 10 games of this season, she could keep sitting out and put in a claim for a medical redshirt for this season, which is her fourth calendar year.

The NCAA would say: Okay, Ice, the yearly tally in your 5-year window is:

Year 1: redshirt
Year 2: play
Year 3: play
Year 4: redshirt
Year 5: eligible to play

After that, it's bye-bye, Ice. Your 5-year window is closed.

However, the Year 5 eligibility entry remains exactly the same if Year 4 of the tally says play instead of redshirt. And the 5-year window closes at the same time no matter whether Year 4 is play or redshirt. Ice's eligibility to play in Year 5 is not affected by whether she plays again in (this) Year 4 or not. She's entitled to play 4 seasons within 5 calendar years.

If Daniel Connolly is suggesting that Ice must sit out the rest of this season to play next season, he is wrong. At a minimum, he is confusing readers.

There are waivers. She is not the first person to get injured twice.

 

[Dugway]

Note that players getting a 6th year has become more common than it was five or ten years ago. That is especially true when the player is asking for a 6th year due to losing two seasons due to serious injuries. Less likely to be granted if one of the lost seasons was due to a player voluntarily sitting out a year (a true redshirt) for developmental purposes. Or, less likely these days, if a player had to sit a year due to transfer rules.

I was under the impression that the reason why it has been more common as of the past five years (not ten) was due to the NCAA incorporating the COVID rule.

IE, if you were a player in the calendar year of 2020, you were allowed to not play that season and not lose a year of eligibility as a result of it. Somehow this then morphed to where the players simply received an extra year of eligibility, regardless of whether they played the 2020 season or not. Example, Bueckers had a choice, she could have forgone the WNBA and still be on the UConn roster today.

It is very confusing however, as it also has select conferences saying ’no, we have our own rules.’ The Ivy Conference as an example. As you recall, Chen transferred to UConn and was able to play in the Big East and NCAA, however she did not have any eligibility left allowing her to stay at Princeton.