# Can a college athlete pursue a 2nd sport in Graduate School? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 12, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-college-athlete-pursue-a-2nd-sport-in-graduate-school/791117 "2017-07-12T18:41:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-college-athlete-pursue-a-2nd-sport-in-graduate-school/791117/1 "2017-07-12T18:41:37Z")
Let’s say Joe was a track star in college. He’s used his 4 years NCAA eligibility. Is he eligible to participate in another sport if he stays in school? Perhaps for a 2nd degree or Graduate studies? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-college-athlete-pursue-a-2nd-sport-in-graduate-school/791117/2 "2017-07-12T18:46:28Z")
Found this with Google. I wasn’t aware of that rule. That’s pretty harsh. That may effect playing as a post graduate. "There is an age limit for NCAA Division I and II sports. The NCAA allows a one year grace period after high school graduation for DI and II schools. One year after your high school class graduates is when your eligibility will start to be affected in all sports except for hockey, skiing and tennis. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-college-athlete-pursue-a-2nd-sport-in-graduate-school/791117/3 "2017-07-12T19:33:02Z")
If you have the free time, you’re not “grad schooling” right. They can [redshirt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshirt_(college_sports)) to play a year longer, when hopefully their play has improved. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-college-athlete-pursue-a-2nd-sport-in-graduate-school/791117/4 "2017-07-12T19:52:50Z")
It has been my experience (as a sports fan) that some college football players will be in graduate school. So, I believe the answer is actually inverse the OP: An athlete doesn’t get “extra” eligibility when they go to grad school, but they can use the eligibility they are allotted when they are there (i.e. If a player red-shirted, then got his undergraduate degree in 3 years, he would have only played 2 years while an undergrad. If he had 4 total years of eligibility, he can still play 2 more years while in grad school. I believe some players may just take one class just to be enrolled so that they can continue to use up available eligibility.) ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-college-athlete-pursue-a-2nd-sport-in-graduate-school/791117/5 "2017-07-12T20:58:41Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Let’s say Joe was a track star in college. He’s used his 4 years NCAA eligibility. > > Is he eligible to participate in another sport if he stays in school? Perhaps for a 2nd degree or Graduate studies? As far as I can tell, yes–for one year, provided that Joe didn’t redshirt and completed his four years of track eligibility in four consecutive seasons. The NCAA bylaws can be downloaded for free from their web site. The relevant section for Division I reads: > [@](#): > > A student-athlete shall not engage in more than four seasons of intercollegiate competition **in any one sport** (see Bylaws 17.02.8 and 14.3.3). An institution shall not permit a student-athlete to represent it in intercollegiate competition unless the individual completes all of his or her seasons of participation **in all sports** within the time periods specified below: The bolding is mine. The “time period specified below” is the familiar five-year limit: You must use all of your eligibility in all sports within five years of first enrolling in college. (With rare exceptions for military service, religious missions, and injuries.) So it sure sounds like an athlete could compete in all five years, _provided that no more than four were in any one sport_. Caution: The eligibility rules are long and complicated, and I may have missed something elsewhere that would prevent it. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-college-athlete-pursue-a-2nd-sport-in-graduate-school/791117/6 "2017-07-12T21:08:22Z")
they have an exception for Mormons since many of them take 2 years to do a mission trip during their college years. ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-college-athlete-pursue-a-2nd-sport-in-graduate-school/791117/7 "2017-07-12T21:52:49Z")
No. As a college athlete, I can answer this a bit. I’m not sure where the 1 year post high school start is required- far too many exceptions that I know of for that to be an actual rule. Chris Weinke earned the Heisman at age 28 and I played with a guy starting college at age 27. But yes, it is possible to play another sport in graduate school; however, it has to be within the 4 year, 5 year (with non-playing year: Redshirt), or 6 year (redshirt + medical injury). I played my first year of college and then my first year of graduate school (3 redshirt years 😉 ). However, regardless of sport, those 4,5 or 6 years are the maximum for NCAA competition. You might find a club sport (Quidditch, Ultimate, hockey) elsewhere which isn’t ruled by NCAA in which you could participate- although most grad school institutions are NCAA-affiliated. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-college-athlete-pursue-a-2nd-sport-in-graduate-school/791117/8 "2017-07-12T22:00:58Z")
Thank you. I can remember when playing and even lettering in multiple high school sports was common. I had often wondered how that might work in college. Most coaches discourage playing two sports in the same year. Playing another sport as a post graduate is the other option. Focusing solely on a single sport can lead to more injuries. > **[Study Indicates Higher Injury Rates for Athletes Who Specialize in One Sport](https://www.nfhs.org/articles/study-indicates-higher-injury-rates-for-athletes-who-specialize-in-one-sport/)** > > The NFHS is the national leader and advocate for high school athletics as well as fine and performing arts programs. Within our 51 member state associations, we serve 19,500 high schools and more than 12 million young people. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-college-athlete-pursue-a-2nd-sport-in-graduate-school/791117/9 "2017-07-12T23:11:47Z")
It’s still fairly common in HS to multi-sport, but is now much less common in college. As you say, coaches discourage it, since they want their athletes to concentrate on their sport. Speaking of multi-sport athletes, I’ll note that Gene Conley, one of the two people to win championships in two of the major US sports, just recently died. He pitched for the Braves (World Series in 1957) and played for the Celtics with three NBA championships (59, 60, 61). ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-college-athlete-pursue-a-2nd-sport-in-graduate-school/791117/10 "2017-07-12T23:28:45Z")
The athlete could take up cycling in college. It’s under USA Cycling and not NCAA. The rules are pretty liberal. Heck even some professional cyclists go to school full time and race at the college level. Also there’s 6 years of eligibility. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-college-athlete-pursue-a-2nd-sport-in-graduate-school/791117/11 "2017-07-13T02:08:53Z")
since kids now tend to stick to one sport year round it leads to more injuries in some cases. For example younger kid pitchers are now blowing out their arm needing surgery. That used to not happen until they were older . ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-college-athlete-pursue-a-2nd-sport-in-graduate-school/791117/12 "2017-07-13T02:14:24Z")
John Urschel of the Baltimore Ravens played football for Penn State for four years, three of which were his time doing his bachelor’s degree and one of which was his time doing his master’s degree. He’s now getting his Ph.D. in math at MIT while continuing to play for the Ravens. He’s also a pretty good chess player: > **[John Urschel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Urschel)** > > John Cameron Urschel (born June 24, 1991) is a Canadian-American mathematician, former professional American football guard and center and chess player. He played college football at Penn State and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Urschel played his entire NFL career with Baltimore before announcing his retirement on July 27, 2017, at 26 years old. > Urschel has bachelor's and master's degrees (both from Penn State) and a doctorate (from the Massachus... ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-college-athlete-pursue-a-2nd-sport-in-graduate-school/791117/13 "2017-07-13T05:56:59Z")
It’s certainly pretty rare, but there are still a few guys who play multiple sports in college. Most common seems to be quarterbacks who also play baseball (usually as a pitcher), though the most well-known ones are guys who actually spent time in the pros as opposed to college. Some recent big names who played multiple sports in college: Jameis Winston (football/baseball), Julius Peppers (football/basketball), Joe Thomas (football/track and field), Antwaan Randel El (football/basketball), Donovan McNabb (football/basketball), Jimmy Graham (basketball/football), Tony Gonzalez (football/basketball), Toby Gerhart (football/baseball) ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-college-athlete-pursue-a-2nd-sport-in-graduate-school/791117/14 "2017-07-13T13:49:27Z")
> [@magnusblitz](#): > > It’s certainly pretty rare I suspect it’s a lot less rare than you’d think once you get outside of the big name sports. I knew someone who competed in soccer and fencing, for example. There’s lots of athletes who participate in track as a second sport.