# College Hockey Elligibility

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-hockey-elligibility/155190>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 15, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-hockey-elligibility/155190 "2003-02-15T00:59:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-hockey-elligibility/155190/1 "2003-02-15T00:59:17Z")

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In the two major college sports, football and basketball, players must give up their remaining eligibility in order to declare for the pro draft. However, in hockey, players are routinely drafted whilst still underclassmen, and yet are allowed to play out their remaining years in college. why is this? What is the NCAA’s reason for this difference?

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**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-hockey-elligibility/155190/2 "2003-02-15T02:22:01Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by 5-HT \*  
> \*\*In the two major college sports, football and basketball, players must give up their remaining eligibility in order to declare for the pro draft. \*\*

Not entirely true. From the [NCAA website:](http://www.ncaa.org/eligibility/cbsa/amateurism.html)

> [@](#):
>
> (You can lose your eligibility if) Ask that your name be placed on a draft list [Note: In basketball, once you become a student-athlete at an NCAA school, you may enter a professional league’s draft one time without jeopardizing your eligibility provided you are not drafted by any team in that league and you declare your intention in writing to return to college within 30 days after the draft]

As far as the NHL goes, a college player can be drafted and the NHL team will retain his rights until graduation so that he doesn’t need to give up his eligibility. Players drafted out of Major Junior hockey are the property of the team for 2 years. If the player is not signed in that time, the player is free to re-enter the draft. [Here](http://uscollegehockey.com/news/2000/06/23_000024.php) is a story about player eligibility.