The NCAA is closer than ever to having a five-year, five seasons of competition model in place.
At the Division II level, that is. That subset of NCAA members pushed forth a proposal last month to grant student-athletes five years of competition across a five-year timeframe. The proposal is set to be voted on at the 2026 NCAA Convention.
During Wednesday's SEC Zoom with the league's 16 head coaches, Arkansas leader Sam Pittman voiced support for the five-for-five measure in an candid response to a question about redshirt conversations.
"I'm hoping that they pass the five for five," said Pittman, whose 2-2 Razorbacks host No. 22-ranked Notre Dame (1-2) Saturday at 12 p.m. ET on ABC. "We certainly need it to [be enacted] with the limited roster size and injuries. We need it."
In early September, Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire made clear his feelings on the five-for-five concept in plain terms.
“It's the easiest rule that [NCAA leadership] could ever pass,” McGuire said.
Multiple sources this week told FootballScoop that the NCAA could dive into the subject next month on a proposal to bring the five-for-five rule to the Football Bowls Subdivision, the sport's highest level of competition. By the end of next month, it is expected that the NCAA and committee members examining this matter "will have an eligibility review."
If that progresses, the group could push forth a proposal before calendar year-end and the item could be voted on at the 2026 NCAA Convention that runs Jan. 13-16, 2026, in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C.
The NCAA also is expected to further examine its proposed change to the NCAA Transfer Portal Window, which recently was pushed forth to span Jan. 2-12, 2026, for football student-athletes.
Sources told FootballScoop this week that there's considerable athlete pushback on a mere 10-day window.
"Athletes want longer than 10 (days), anything longer than 10," a source with direct knowledge told FootballScoop. "The athletes want more time to negotiate and want more time for leverage."
Pittman noted that while walk-on players were grandfathered onto FBS college football rosters this season as part of the House Settlement, roster reductions are imminent and already gradually unfolding within many programs.
As FootballScoop previously reported in June, grandfathered roster spots up to a 120-player roster in college football belong to the individual student-athletes. One that athlete exhausts his/her eligibility, the roster spot is gone until all teams scale down to a 105-player roster.
The NCAA, as part of the House Settlement, cleared the way for programs to fully fund 105 scholarships at the FBS level.
"Injury-wise, it's going to go up just because of simple numbers," Pittman said. "We've got to cut 15 from our roster, and then guys come in and say they're going to redshirt when they're helping your program. It is not a good combination in my opinion."
Illinois head coach Bret Bielema, who's operated multiple programs in the Big Ten and also coached in the SEC, said he expects the five-for-five measure to be enacted prior to the 2026 season.
"I think 5 for 5 will be in place for the guys next year," Bielema told reporters last week. "I don't have any reservations of that.
"I know the Big Ten is 100-percent behind it. I know the Big 12 was when I talked to Coach McGuire, and I talked to several SEC coaches who said the SEC was going to be on board as well.
Multiple additional Power Conference general managers echoed that sentiment Wednesday to FootballScoop:
"Completely in favor and needs to happen," a P-4 G.M. told FootballScoop. "Schools (are) starting to worry agents will have athletes hold out and preserve their year (of eligibility via redshirt) if (things are) not going their way or if a coaching change is likely to happen.
"Agents don't want kids playing in a 'lame-duck' year."
Added another P-4 G.M., "I've heard there's a lot of support; I think it would surprise people if it happened [with being passed] that fast [next month]."
"Coach heard about it a while back from some coaches," added another director of player personnel.
Said another DPP, "Not just how we play possible redshirts this year ... But also guys in their fourth year who may want to come back and play a fifth year. (We) need to have a plan with money."
It's why, even if changes were indeed inevitable at Oklahoma State, UCLA and Virginia Tech, a college football executive still expressed shock at the timing of the dismissals of Mike Gundy, DeShaun Foster and Brent Pry, respectively.
"What are they doing? What are they thinking," the individual asked. "Do they not realize their entire teams could decide to redshirt and go into the Portal and you lose the rest of your season?"