What Does Redshirt Mean in College Sports? (2024)

How Does Redshirting Work for Each Division

Redshirt is not an official term recognized by the NCAA. As such, the rules for redshirting are different for each division of college athletics. They are as follows:

Division I – Athletes have five full years to complete four years of competition during their career as student-athletes. This five-year clock begins when they enroll as a full-time student and continues even if they transition to part-time or transfer to another school. Division I college football players in particular are also able to participate in up to four games during a season without losing redshirt status.
Division II – Athletes have 10 semesters or 15 quarters to participate as student-athletes. Like Division I athletes, Division II players have four years in which they can compete against other teams. Any semester where you’re enrolled full-time will count toward this number, but part-time terms or no-competition terms don’t count.
Division III –Student-athletes are not permitted to have elective redshirt status at Division III colleges. However, in some cases, medical redshirting is allowed when an athlete plays one-third of their playing season or less before an injury. When this occurs, the coach can file paperwork with the NCAA to restore a season of eligibility.

Is Being Redshirted a Bad Thing?

Redshirting is not a punishment or an indicator of poor behavior or lack of skill. Rather, this practice is used to help student-athletes flourish, whether it’s lengthening their training time, providing them with an extra year of play due to an injury, or giving them the chance to further strengthen their athletic development.

In fact, many students-athletes take advantage of redshirting to better prepare for a career in professional sports. In these instances, the fifth year is utilized to “get better athletically, get their degree, and get a huge step up on their career,” making redshirting a beneficial and worthwhile opportunity.

Can You Play and Still Redshirt?

Because the purpose of redshirting is to give student-athletes the opportunity to sit out of a year of competition, they’re not able to compete with other teams while redshirting. Athletes who are undergoing a redshirt season may only participate in their sport during practice or non-competitive training with their coaches or peers.

Play at North Central College

While student-athletes don’t usually plan on redshirting, it’s important to know how the process works before you enter into college competition. That knowledge is just one part of the vital decision you have to make on where you want your college athletics career to start.