DI Cabinet to consider changes to preenrollment athletics eligibility rules

During its meeting Wednesday, the Division I Cabinet received a report from the Academics and Eligibility Committee about a package of proposed changes to precollege enrollment athletics eligibility rules. The Cabinet is expected to take action on the proposals as early as mid-April.

The proposed changes — which are intended to modernize athletics eligibility rules for prospects — include:

• Requiring prospects to withdraw from opt-in professional league drafts, including the  NBA draft, bringing precollege enrollment draft rules in line with postcollege enrollment draft rules. The rules change would not impact sports in which prospects can be drafted without opting in to the respective professional league drafts (including men's ice hockey and baseball).
• Allowing prospects to sign with agents prior to enrolling in college. Under current NCAA rules, prospects are only permitted to sign with agents for name, image and likeness purposes, with the narrow exceptions of allowing baseball and men's ice hockey prospects to enter into agreements with pro sports agents if they are drafted by their respective professional leagues. 
• Allowing prospects to accept prize money in their respective sports without impacting eligibility. Currently, prospects can accept prize money only up to actual and necessary expenses, except in tennis, which permits up to $10,000 in prize money.

The proposal would maintain the current eligibility rules regarding prospects who sign a contract with a professional team, regardless of draft status or the country in which that team competes. The Academics and Eligibility Committee recommended modifying the reinstatement guidelines to add clarity and transparency about the rules. 

"These proposed changes reflect ongoing work by Division I members to modernize our rules to align with the current era of college sports," said Josh Whitman, chair of the Cabinet and athletics director at Illinois. "As Division I members proceed with reviewing all eligibility rules in the months ahead, our focus will be establishing rules that have objective criteria that can be consistently applied for both prospects and current student-athletes." 

If adopted by the Cabinet in mid-April, the proposals would be effective for prospects entering college during the 2026-27 academic year. 

In 2025, the Division I Cabinet charged NCAA staff with conducting a sweeping review of all athletics eligibility rules following the court approval of the House injunction. The Cabinet's consideration of potential changes to preenrollment requirements is the first phase of that work, and the final package of athletics eligibility rules could include moderate adjustments to preenrollment requirements for the 2027-28 academic year and beyond.