Redshirting

[lfnadmin]

There have been a lot of compelling things written about some of the self-imposed rules that the Patriot League imposes that sort-of hold them back in the national arena. Lately, the rule that has caught my attention the most is the one where the PL does not allow redshirting. Namely, why is the league still implementing this rule? Of all the restrictions currently in place in the league - more than roster limits, more than the Academic Index - it is this rule that seems to be something that nobody else is doing.

The FCS power conference teams redshirt players all the time.

The "non-scholarship" Pioneer not only redshirts, they redshirt star players. San Diego's star QB Reid Sinnett is a 5th year player. This makes their teams better and helps retain their athletes.

The "non-scholarship" Ivy makes a mockery of saying that they don't redshirt players. Weeks before the season, RB Aaron Shampklin of Harvard mysteriously disappeared from the roster. No explanation was asked for, or given. No injury was mentioned. Two weeks before the season was to start, Harvard Magazine was writing articles as if he were going to be playing. Harvard is clearly operating as if there is no redshirt restrictions on their athletes.

The NEC does not offer a full boat of scholarships, but they also redshirt players. This makes their teams better and helps retain their athletes.

The Patriot League can get medical redshirts, but they are not guaranteed to be approved by the NCAA and require an injury/hardship to occur. This means, as a league, the PL gets fewer 5th year players.

5th year players make better football teams. 5th year offensive linemen and defensive linemen have an extra year to adapt their bodies to the Division I game. 5th year QBs get an extra year to learn offenses. 5th year linebackers get a year better.

Does the Patriot League have a rationale for not offering redshirts other than the fact that technically (but not in practice) the Ivy League doesn't offer them? Personally, I'm sick and tired of the Patriot League holding up their side of the agreement and then seeing teams like Harvard make a mockery of the rule.

It doesn't harm graduation rates - if anything, it would help. It wouldn't make the Patriot League's emphasis on football any more than any other FCS school - if anything, it would put it in line with every single other school. it might even make the league more attractive for a Villanova, William and Mary or New Hampshire, which currently redshirts. So what's the holdup? I honestly can't see any justification for not making this change other than institutional sloth or trying to de-emphasize football.

[jimk72]

Could $$$$$ be the reason? Does redshirting add a year to the athletic scholarship?

[van]

$$$$ the same, 60 rides is 60 rides, speculation is that the schools that don't have grad programs are opposed

in my opinion the 60 limit is more of an issue, 3 more rides would be more beneficial than redshirting and the roster limit is just plain silly

[van]

so here is my question that bothers me, since we are now offering 60 football scholarships vs the 57 or so equivalencies we reportedly gave before, why are we not recruiting better?

[mookie]

Seriously? The vast majority of players have already been held back at least once by parents hoping to gain an edge. Pretty soon 25 year old players will be the norm. Let's get real here, less than a handful of Patriot League players will even get a sniff at the next level.

[lfnadmin]

Seriously? The vast majority of players have already been held back at least once by parents hoping to gain an edge. Pretty soon 25 year old players will be the norm. Let's get real here, less than a handful of Patriot League players will even get a sniff at the next level.

This isn't about the "next level", it's about being competitive in FCS as it stands today. New Hampshire, Villanova, San Diego, and Harvard all manage to redshirt and the vast majority of those redshirted athletes don't play professionally.

[mookie]

Your Harvard example is anecdotal. Ivies don't redshirt. Put the right coaching staff in place who recruit better and redshirting is pretty much an outlier.

[Bison_137]

Your Harvard example is anecdotal. Ivies don't redshirt. Put the right coaching staff in place who recruit better and redshirting is pretty much an outlier.

Yes, definitely no redshirting. However there is the very occasional Ivy player who gets hurt and opts to drop out of school so that he maintains a year of eligibility. Most PL schools have an advantage in this area, however, because injury redshirts are allowed in the PL - and used by most of the schools.

One comment about the first post. The NCAA does not review requests for injury redshirts - the Patriot League does. Not sure a request has ever been denied - and if one was denied, it must have been an egregious misapplication of the rule.

[ngineer]

A couple things. First, I know the Ivy's 'grey shirt' in wrestling, and my well do so in FB and BB. In greyshirting the student actually drops out of school for a year with a guaranteed slot t come back in.

As for the PL, I think the big thing against redshirting is that many PL schools do not have any or significant graduate programs where a "5th year senior" can earn another degree. Lehigh has a substantial graduate school, so that would need to be addressed.

I don't know if the need-based formula is as restrictive as the scholarship model on numbers. What gets me is why the League won't allow both a mix of scholarship and grants-in-aid. I remember Andy bitching about that several years ago.

[Sundayamqb]

If I'm going to school to get an education -- there still are some engineers on the football team -- I'm getting out in four years and making $70K to start somewhere.

I'm not sticking around for another year to play a game -- unless I have a tough time in school, need five years and someone else will pay for it; am getting a master's and someone else will pay for it or ... probably another reason.

I have no problem with redshirting, but going to Lehigh is not the same as going to some of the top FCS schools where football is the reason people attend college.