My daughter played D1 ball this past fall. Did well, played a good deal as a freshman. When she came home at Christmas she informed us she was walking away from her scholarship and enlisting. Some questions. 1. She would still like to play college ball when she finishes her service. I know her 5-year clock stops while she is in the military. Does she need to do anything? I have looked, but I can't find anything about submitting her orders to the NCAA. 2. She would like to keep playing rec soccer while she is in the Army when she has the chance. I heard recently that the NCAA tried to block a Marine who played rec football from playing when he went to college. Is this still an issue? Seems silly to not be able to play a sport at all while you are in the military, but at what level are you permitted to play? 3. What about All Army sports team if she is selected for that? Does that also count?
1. Five year clock at Division 1 does pause per rule 12.8.1.2. 2. Playing while in service does count but the new school should be able to file a waiver and get this granted. Should not be a problem. There are several cases of schools successfully filing the waiver. 3. All Army teams would count as above. Hope this helps.
Does she need to file any paperwork with the NCAA at this point? Or does she wait until she is ready to get out? I looked at her NCAA eligibility portal and the NCAA website, but did not see anything. Before she shipped off she wanted to make sure I took care of this. I would ask her college coaching staff, but let's just say they were not very supportive when she informed them of her decision.
She would need to have the next institution she attends file the waivers. When she attends the next school that is when she will need to actively work on it. If she returns to the same school then that will be an issue with you and the school for the waiver. Hopefully they will see the patriotic intent and provide grace for the situation. Until then God Bless and protect your child and thank her for her service to our country.