College hoop fans left divided opinions on whether women’s college hoopers should be allowed to play for more than five years. An Instagram post by Overtime from Friday, Feb. 21, showed two basketball analysts debating on “College hoopers should not be allowed to play for more than five years: Defend or Destroy.”
Should College Basketball Players Stay for 5+ Years? Fans Weigh In
The “destroy” said, “I don’t think they should play for more than five years. I also think they should have the right to leave early just like guys do if they want to play in the WNBA early. Because, I don’t know, if you have the skill, you have the talent, why dragging it out in college only to get knocked out in the round of 16?”
Then the “defend” said, “Players need to be able to stay for a fifth year because I need to see Paige [Bueckers] in the Connecticut Sun. I need to. She can stay there. If she stays an extra year, she has a medical redshirt. She can stay an extra year, and she can land on the Sun. Sun blew it up this offseason. We need to keep her.”
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Fans took to the comment section to share diverse opinions on the topic.
“They stay the 4 years to get their degree and to develop. basketball isn’t forever,” a fan wrote.
“You can’t change the rule for 2 players. There isn’t enough places for them to play,” another fan wrote.
“5 is fine…due to injuries or redshirt. The WNBA isn’t where it needs to be for them to leave early unfortunately,” a fan commented.
Here are some comments by fans who believe women’s college hoopers can stay up to six years.
“Ppl need to understand most athletes especially at D1 don’t finish in 4 years due to the demand in their schedule. 5 is a must and 6 really would be ideal. That 6 would include and red or pink shirts because you can still be working towards your degree,” a fan wrote.
“Until female hoopers are making as much money as NBA players…there is no need to leave early, there’s no incentive. Especially since there’s NIL and college players can get $. Enjoy the free education,” another fan wrote.
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“i say 6 years for 2-year masters programs. also let’s not forget that wnba rookies make no more than 76k while nba (bc of a longer legacy of fundraising and a dash of sexism, naturally) rooks make 1M starting (google search),” a fan commented.
According to the NCAA’s five-year rule, a college athlete cannot compete in any one D1 college sport for more than four seasons, which must fall within a period of five calendar years.
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