Athletes at Keene State College and all Division III schools face the reality of not being able to redshirt.
A redshirt is the delay or suspension of an athlete’s participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility.
For example, a redshirt freshman would practice with the team but not touch the field until his or her sophomore year but would only be in his or her first year of athletic eligibility. The only alternative is to stay healthy or apply for a medical hardship after an injury.
KSC Athletic Director John Ratliff explains the Division III rules on redshirting.
“At one time it used to mean the same thing for all divisions,” John Ratliff said. He added “About five or six years ago Division III basically got rid of redshirting. It ultimately meant a student athlete could practice the full year as long as they didn’t play in a game. It gives the opportunity to practice the full year without burning a year of eligibility.”
Today the redshirting rule in Division III is a little different and other public Division III colleges like KSC would like to bring the original rule back, according to Ratliff.
“Let’s say a student athlete was on the bench during a game but didn’t play, the next practice, if they show up after the first competition counts as a season of eligibility,” Ratliff said.
The only real way to not burn a year of eligibility, and still be able to practice with the team, is if you are able to get a medical hardship.
A medical hardship is attainable after an athlete gets a severe injury, which doesn’t allow them to participate for the rest of the season. Athletic Trainer Bob Merrow describes the process.
“You get documentation from the physician caring for them [the athlete] and you submit a submission to the NCAA [National Collegiate Athletic Association] to let that athlete have their four years of competition. That’s a process that the athletic director handles in conjunction with the athletic room and the athletes themselves,” Merrow said.
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According to Merrow Medical Hardships are never guaranteed and the NCAA has strict criteria in order for an athlete to receive one.
It has to be a season-ending injury or illness that occurs before the completion of the first half of the traditional playing season and results in incapability to compete for remainder of season.
“Take soccer for example, 20 game season, if you got hurt in the 10th game of the season and you only played in 6 games out of the first 10, you could apply for a medical red shirt,” John Ratliff said.
Junior Bentley Reif has been on the men’s soccer team for three years. Reif played in six games his freshman season before suffering a season ending injury and went through the process to get a medical redshirt [hardship].
“I got really sick my freshman year, took off some time, the first game back I blew my knee out against Salem State. No contact, it just blew out. I knew right away that it was my ACL,” Reif said.
“Talking with John Ratliff, we concluded that I was within the guidelines of Division III medical hardship. Then my doctor finalized it with his letter, documenting the surgery and why it was needed,” Reif said.
He added that it took a full year to gather all the paperwork needed to finalize the hardship.
When asked if having an extra year of eligibility helped or hurt Reif at tryouts, he responded, “Just because you have that extra year, doesn’t give you an automatic spot on the team. This year the coach was strict, he was like ‘No guarantees, nobody’s on the team, everyone is eligible to be accepted or kicked off the team.’ It didn’t matter if you were a captain last year, had been recruited or anything. You just have to prove yourself, there’s no guarantees.”
Cyrus Lyons can be contacted at clyons@keene-equinox.com
