# Grad Student Athletics - NCAA Rules

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grad-student-athletics-ncaa-rules/315715>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 5, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grad-student-athletics-ncaa-rules/315715 "2005-08-05T14:44:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![billsfootballbuffulo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@billsfootballbuffulo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billsfootballbuffulo)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grad-student-athletics-ncaa-rules/315715/1 "2005-08-05T14:44:56Z")

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Can a grad/medical/law/etc join a university’s athletic teams if he/she did not participate in athletics as an undergrad?

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**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grad-student-athletics-ncaa-rules/315715/2 "2005-08-05T14:50:03Z")

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Yes. You get four years of eligibility as long as you are a student. This could be as an undergrad, a grad student or even a part time student.

Haj

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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:** [August 5, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grad-student-athletics-ncaa-rules/315715/3 "2005-08-05T14:56:18Z")

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Everything you need to know about [NCAA eligibility](http://www2.ncaa.org/legislation_and_governance/eligibility_and_conduct/eligibility.html).

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**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:** [August 5, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grad-student-athletics-ncaa-rules/315715/4 "2005-08-05T18:39:14Z")

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> [@billsfootballbuffulo](#):
>
> Can a grad/medical/law/etc join a university’s athletic teams if he/she did not participate in athletics as an undergrad?

Yes, or even if he/she **did** participate, as long as he/she didn’t use up four years of eligibility. However, you have only five years to use up said eligibility after first enrolling at a full-time college, whether you play or not (with rare exceptions for military service, religious missions, or injuries.) So most people dreaming of doing a “Rudy” as a 25-year-old law student are going to be disappointed.

> [@hajario](#):
>
> This could be as an undergrad, a grad student or even a part time student.

With rare exceptions, part-time students are not eligible to play NCAA sports.

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**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grad-student-athletics-ncaa-rules/315715/5 "2005-08-05T19:11:08Z")

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Sweet, I can’t wait to retire, then go back for a Masters and join the swim team at the age of 57 or so.