Who the NCAA’s new junior college eligibility waiver for 2025-26 currently affects at NC State
The NCAA Division I Board of Directors granted a waiver Monday to allow a certain subset of collegiate athletes to earn another year of eligibility for the 2025-26 season. The players must have competed at a non-NCAA school during their collegiate career, while also running out of eligibility at the conclusion of this season.
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia is the highest-profile case after he sued the NCAA to gain another year of eligibility after he spent two seasons at the junior college level. He earned a preliminary injunction to have another year earlier this month, but it only applied to his case.
Now, the NCAA has widened the scope of the rule, allowing for players in every sport to become eligible for the waiver without having to file a lawsuit. But who at NC State could take advantage of the ruling to come back for another season during the 2025-26 school year? There are three players currently eligible to use it.
Senior left tackle Anthony Belton, senior safety Bishop Fitzgerald and men’s basketball senior guard Marcus Hill are all able to return to NC State for next season, if they wish.
Belton spent two years at Georgia Military College before enrolling at NC State, while Fitzgerald was the No. 1 safety out of Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College. Hill, meanwhile, played his first two years at Southern Union State Community College before he transferred to Bowling Green last season and is in his first year with the Wolfpack.
Top 10
- 1New
Urban Meyer
Coach alarmed by UT fan turnout at OSU
- 2
Bowl insurance
Historic policies for Hunter, Shedeur
- 3Hot
CFP home games
Steve Spurrier calls for change
- 4
Nick Saban endorsed
Lane Kiffin suggests as commish
- 5
Diego Pavia
Vandy QB ruling forces change
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
All three players do not have to use the extra year of eligibility, but have the opportunity to extend their collegiate career by one season.
Belton could opt to enter the NFL Draft, where he is currently expected to be selected during the three-day event. Fitzgerald, who logged 51 total tackles with seven passes defended and three interceptions this season, isn’t a high-profile draft target at the moment and could benefit from another season in Raleigh. Hill is averaging a team-best 12.6 points through his first 12 games with the Wolfpack, a team that would welcome him back as seven other players will have exhausted their eligibility by the end of the season.
Usually, every NCAA athlete only has four years of eligibility, which includes any time spent at a non-NCAA institution. But this waiver could signal more change in the future, possibly broadening the breadth of it even further to underclassmen that competed outside of the NCAA’s jurisdiction.
For now, however, only players in their final season of eligibility that previously competed at a non-NCAA institution are able to claim the waiver.
