Over the summer, the NCAA announced another sweeping change in a decade full of them, introducing new aged-based eligibility rules for student-athletes.
NCAA student-athletes now have a continuous five-year eligibility window that starts when one graduates high school or turns 19, whichever comes first.
Under previous rules, student-athletes had four years to compete and could gain a fifth year by redshirting. Athletes could also get a sixth year via medical hardship waiver. When the NCAA granted student-athletes an extra year of eligibility during the COVID-19 pandemic, it created an influx of athletes that were able to reach Year 7 and beyond.
The new five-year rule essentially eliminates redshirts and comes with just a few exceptions, including religious missions, military service and pregnancy.
Because of age, not all student-athletes will automatically have five years at their disposal. But across the country, many student-athletes entering their fourth years ahead of the 2026-2027 thought they were seniors and thus would be done after the season. That is no longer the case. And in the age of NIL and the transfer portal, many will feel inclined to explore their options once their respective seasons are over.
As coaches adapt to the five-year eligibility rule, it promises to create roster crunches for the time being. Aloha State Daily asked a handful of University of Hawai‘i head coaches how they plan to adjust to the new rule and the different aspects that come with it.
Timmy Chang, football
Back when Chang was a quarterback for Hawai‘i in the early 2000s, he played five years the old school way — his sophomore season in 2001 was limited to three games because of a wrist injury. Because he played less than a third of the season, he was granted a medical redshirt. The extra season, in part, allowed him to set the NCAA passing yardage record with 17,072, though he was eventually passed by Houston's Case Keenum, who received six years from 2006 to 2011 after a traditional redshirt and medical hardship.
Prior to the 2018 season, it was announced by the NCAA that football players could play in any four games and maintain a redshirt. Although it kept players engaged and provided breathing room to not burn a season by playing a handful of snaps, that rule has since gone out the window. With 105 roster spots and no transfer limits after the season, does Chang feel inclined to play less true freshmen?
"I think the biggest thing, if you have value here in your freshman season, whether the value comes from offense, special teams, you might not be a starter week one, but things happen. You ready? You get your opportunity," Chang said. "You get put in there. That's what we look for. Hopefully, the guys continue to develop, they grow, they understand the sense of urgency that happens and they're ready to perform."
In UH's 56-21 win at Northern Illinois on Oct. 24, true freshman cornerback Kydel Stone snagged his first career interception while true freshman running back TJ Fo'ilefutu ran for his first touchdown.
Fifth-year senior receiver Pofele Ashlock has not played in 2026 due to a knee injury. Under the old rules, he would have been granted a sixth year in 2027 in all likelihood. Though UH has petitioned for it, they have yet to receive an answer from the NCAA.
Michele Nagamine, soccer
Roster logjams across all sports are expected in the wake of the new rule. For Nagamine, that means some tough conversations with high school recruits.
"It's something that everybody's just trying to figure out, but it's a matter of are we going to recruit players for [the high school class of] 2028 when we could possibly have a [traditional four-year] senior returning? Obviously, if we could get a senior to return that has been impactful on the field and a good member of the team, then we would we would gladly take that over [the high school recruit]. So, we've had some conversations," she said early on in the 2026 season.
The Rainbow Wahine honored nine seniors following a 2-2 draw against New Mexico on Nov. 1. Standout goalkeeper Kennedy Justin was one of them, though she has already announced she will play collegiate soccer in 2027.
Joshua Walker, women's volleyball
Upon getting offered and accepting the UH women's volleyball gig in June, Walker hit the ground running in the recruiting trail. Prep Dig currently ranks Hawai‘i's 2027 recruiting class as the No. 26 class in the entire country. All 15 players on the current roster would be eligible to return in 2027, though outside hitter Tali Hakas recently announced the 2026 indoor season will be her last, and that she'll move on from college after playing the 2027 spring beach season with the Rainbow Wahine.
"I don't have to make any decisions just yet," Walker said back in August. "For us, it's just getting established with this team and see how things are going to go. But as we hit towards the back end of the year, those questions kind of come up. We'll address those then."
Khalilah Mitchell, women's basketball
Though women's basketball teams are permitted to have up to 15 players on the roster, Mitchell has deliberately kept 12 in her debut season. The foundation of her roster consists of star junior center Ritorya Tamilo and sophomore guard Bailey Flavell. When she brings in new players, particularly high school recruits, will they operate under the thinking that they have five years?
"I haven't adjusted in the way of telling them, 'Hey, you get five years here.' I think because of this era, I think you take it a year at a time, and you see what works best for not just the player, but for us as well," Mitchell said. "I hope every player wants to stay here. That would be the real win of the entire season, is we identify our standard, and every single player on this roster wants to return because we've increased and tried to make sure that they had a really good playing experience.
"That's been the key to success here: consistency and retention, and that's still my number one priority. How do I recruit them every day, right? I want them to know how invested I am in them and in their professional aspirations. ... I want what they want. If I've done my job and I made them the best player they can be, and I can no longer offer them something, then absolutely, I'm their number one fan. But if they want to stay here and do this together with us, I want that as well."
Eran Ganot, men's basketball
Rainbow Warrior point guard Tanner Cuff graduated high school in 2019, then went on a two-year church mission. His NCAA clock began in 2021. After suffering an ACL injury prior to the 2025-2026 season, he was granted a sixth year via medical hardship redshirt. For the first time in his life, he's teammates with his little brother, UH freshman guard Tiger Cuff. Under the new rules, that wouldn't have been permitted.
Though redshirts are out of the picture, Ganot says he and his staff will continue to be flexible towards new rule changes. In the 2026-2027 season, his roster of 15 consists of 13 newcomers.
"We haven't burned any redshirt years since we've been here. Now it's out of the equation, so it's kind of all hands on deck," Ganot said. "Certainly when you have injuries, I think in terms of the landscape of college athletics, and even with the five-for-five, you've seen what we've done. We're like chameleons. You've seen the new world. I feel like we can still bring in some young prospects that we can develop. We've done a really good job with even looking outside the box with two Division II players that we feel are really good [in Jaden Matingou and Isaiah Kerr]. Obviously over the years we've brought in some junior college guys. We bring in the global component, and we incorporate the transfers. So, I feel like working to continue to do that in this new world, even as you bring in the five in five, we will be flexible in terms of balance of our roster of where we're bringing them from."
Charlie Wade, men's volleyball
Wade says he knew the five-year rule was on the horizon, and it's informed the way he's managed his roster in recent years. His son, Kainoa, could have redshirted as a true freshman in 2025, but Charlie Wade saw no point in that.
"I've known it's coming for years," he said. "I was one of the few people that was saying it's coming, and so redshirt's not really been a thing, right? Kainoa came in [as a spring semester enrollee] and we played him. Even last year with [middle blocker] Roman [Payne] hurt, he redshirted only because of injury. Everybody knew that the five-for-five was going to come in, and you're not going to get a sixth. So, redshirt really hasn't been a thing for a few years. Just get guys out there, start playing them, start to develop them even more."
Boasting a world-class roster, the defending national champions have some tantalizing options as it pertains to players getting an additional year. Kainoa Wade is one of them. Setter Tread Rosenthal was just 17 when he enrolled at Hawai‘i in 2024, and the 2027 season would have been his senior year. The new rule allows him to come back in 2028. But would a player of his ilk stay another year in college instead of go pro?
"Everybody's looking at it like, 'OK, we have a chance [to play an extra year].' I think most of the core guys are going to go pro, right? I know Kainoa is already talking about getting his masters, and Travell [Jordan] may stick around for year five, but a lot of the other guys, they've been turning down professional offers for quite some time," Wade said. "And then you have to you sync it up with graduation, also. A lot of them are graduating, and so coming back, you can't just come back and play a fifth year. You actually have to go to school, and you have to be in a grad program. So, it really will be more of a case-by-case thing. I'd like to have them all back, but yeah, what's it worth to the [athletics] department to pay those guys in rev share to come back for a whole other year?"
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
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