In late June, the NCAA adopted the five-year eligibility rule, a landmark change that has a direct impact on high school prospects.
The new “5 for 5” rule now gives Div. 1 and 2 athletes five full seasons of eligibility over a five-year window, with their eligibility clock starting upon initial college enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever comes first.
For high school prospects and their families, there are myriad questions about what the change means, especially for their reclassification and postgraduate decisions. Fortunately, NEPSAC coaches have answers.
In Part 3 of our NEPSAC boys coaches’ survey, we asked coaches around the league simply: What do prospects and their families need to know about the NCAA’s new eligibility rule? Coaches were granted anonymity so they could more freely express their opinions.
This section also asks coaches what changes they would make to NEPSAC boys basketball’s playoff system. Let’s dive in.
NEPSAC BOYS COACHES SURVEY: Part 1 | Part 2
What do prospects and families need to know about the NCAA's new eligibility (5 for 5) rule?
One of the key points that many coaches stressed is the Sept. 1 deadline. If a prospect turns 19 before Sept. 1, their eligibility clock begins that season. If they turn 19 after Sept. 1, their eligibility clock doesn’t start until the next year.
“Only thing that changes is that you cannot turn 19 before your senior year,” one coach said. “There are current reclass '28s and 29s that will be 19 in the summer before their last year. Those players will not get 5 years and need to reclassify up a grade. Coaches and families do not know this. Nor do the grassroots coaches telling the players to reclassify.”
Added a different coach: “As long as they turn 19 during the student’s final year of HS, reclassifying still makes the most sense for all prospects. I think it puts the urgency on going prep and not simply waiting for a (postgraduate) year.”
Most of the coaches’ answers highlighted the importance of players and families doing their due diligence and research of how every detail of a prospect’s future could be affected by the rule change, including academic transcripts, birthday timelines and if a postgraduate season makes sense. Some coaches believe doing a postgraduate year still makes sense even if they lose a year of college eligibility, but acknowledge the rule should make them take more careful consideration.
“Doing a postgrad year used to be a terrific option and beyond the added access to exposure it gave kids it also allowed them to develop on and off the court to fully prepare for the next level,” one coach said. “Families now need to know, is it worth it to potentially start the clock while in that postgrad year?”
“Losing a year of eligibility to do a postgrad year can still catapult someone to an amazing four years of college (which was always the original plan),” one coach added.
ANALYSIS: Why revised NCAA eligibility rule is a win for postgraduates
One coach explained that it’s beneficial to be older when entering college now. That could mean losing a year of college eligibility for a postgraduate season or doing five years of high school basketball could be worth it in the long run.
“There is no reason to rush to get there as a younger player because it will only put you behind the 8-ball physically,” the coach said. “Take advantage of the environment at prep schools to grow your independence, basketball skills and off the court skills. Players should also look deeper into what each college situation offers. Playing early on in your career has never been more important. People have become far less patient in the development of players. When there is a pool of 2,000+ players available every year in the portal and the next wave of freshmen, you need to make sure you find the right home and set yourself apart from everyone else.”
One coach provided three key bullet points. One, to “make sure your kid is born after September 1st so they can be as old as possible.” Secondly, “do not, under any circumstances, stay back in the 8th grade.” Doing so will ultimately cost a year of college eligibility. And third, the coach said “you almost have to do 5 years of high school now,” whether that’s from a postgraduate season or reclassification.
“For some kids, your prime earning years are your last two years of college,” the coach said. “Make sure you're as old as possible. For everyone else, you'll need to be that old just to compete.”
What changes would you make to NEPSAC's current playoff system?
While Class AAA accepts each of its teams into its playoff field because of the amount of teams, many coaches from lower class levels lobbied for playoff expansion in this survey. The majority of those responses came from coaches in Class A, which had 24 teams last season, but only eight teams qualify for the postseason.
“We (had) 13 or 14 very talented teams,” one coach said. “Need to expand to 12 and give some first round byes.”
“Maybe a play-in,” another coach added. “There are a lot of teams for very few spots. Which also makes it special.”
At least a half dozen coaches are in favor of changing the playoff week schedule. Right now, every class across NEPSAC holds its quarterfinals on Wednesday, semifinals on Saturday and championship on Sunday, with the quarters and semis played at the higher seed’s campus and the championship at neutral sites.
Several coaches would like to see the games broken up, with a day off in between each round. NEPSAC used to hold its playoff rounds on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday before changing it to Wednesday-Saturday-Sunday in 2014.
“I'm sure nothing would get lost if we went Tuesday/Thursday/Sunday or Wednesday/Friday/Sunday,” one coach said. “As awesome (as) playing Sunday is, that Saturday/Sunday back to back is a sprint.”
One coach suggested playing both the semifinals and final at a neutral site or playing at the higher seed throughout the postseason. Another lobbied for Friday night semifinal games before holding the championship games at one location on Saturday and Sunday.
Many coaches want to see changes in the playoff selection process.
In several classes, playoff teams are decided based on complicated computer formulas. The standings are not accessible online publicly throughout the season, instead only shared internally among NEPSAC coaches with multiple updates leading up to the March bracket reveal.
“Start with more transparency,” one coach said. “Most importantly, the ability to view the standings online for all. It is sad to see how outdated the playoff process is given the amount of talent in the NEPSAC.”
One coach said they wished the playoff formula wouldn’t change so close to the season so they could schedule accordingly. Multiple coaches mentioned that they wanted games outside of their class to be more highly valued.
“The value of beating a higher class than your own should matter more,” one coach said. “I beat (a Class A playoff team) and it does not benefit me nearly as much as beating.a team in Class B who is .500 or below. In-class wins are at 75% of the metric. Which is good and bad.”
One coach even suggested the implementation of a playoff selection committee, similar to the College Football Playoff (CFP).
“Add a public coaches committee (featuring coaches from a different class) to the playoff equation, similar to CFP where the committee takes the data into account and weights it heavily, but ultimately makes the final decision,” the coach said. “Allows for ability to consider injuries, trends over the season, etc.”
Other answers included one coach suggesting that the champions of Class AAA, AA and A each earn an automatic bid to the national prep championship tournament. Another coach wants to see a tournament of champions.
