The 2020s have been full of major eligibility decisions.In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, all college athletes received an extra year. Diego Pavia sued the NCAA and got himself and other junior college athletes an extra year. Now, everyone will be playing under extended eligibility with the approval of 5-for-5.Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia played six seasons of college football after successfully suing for junior college seasons to not count for his class. | Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesTraditionally, college athletes had five years to complete four seasons of play. That's where redshirting came in, giving the player a year to develop or recover from an injury and extend their careers. Over the past several seasons, COVID-19 and seemingly never-ending waivers have led to a number of six, seven, and eight-year athletes across every sport.Recent years also saw coaches, particularly in men's basketball, abusing the system and signing foreign players in their mid-20s with multiple years of professional experience overseas.Now, that waiver system is going away. On Tuesday, the Division I Cabinet voted unanimously to approve the age-based eligibility model, which will be final at the conclusion of its meeting on Wednesday.The approval of 5-for-5 should bring an end to the yearly court cases and waivers that have plagued the system for the past several years. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn ImagesThe new model will remove redshirting and waivers. All athletes will have five years to play five seasons. The clock begins when an athlete enrolls in college or turns 19 years old, whichever happens first.What this new model does not do is adjust the roster limits. Despite more years of eligibility being allowed going forward, football is still limited to 105 players, volleyball to 18, basketball to 15, and so on.Here is what that change means for several of the Nebraska Cornhusker teams.VolleyballPerhaps no sport on campus has a more built-in system for year-to-year recruiting and development. The 2028 class has already begun making commitments, even though two full seasons will play out before they even set foot on campus.HuskerMax's Lincoln Arneal wrote in April about what the Husker volleyball team thought about the then-potential eligibility update.The change could extend the college careers of Harper Murray, Andi Jackson, Bergen Reilly, and Laney Choboy, who will be entering their fourth year with the Huskers. Murray said they are aware of it, but aren’t waiting around for a decision to come down.Andi Jackson has made massive improvements each season at Nebraska. How much better could she get with a fifth season? | Kenny Larabee, KLIN“It’s definitely something to think about,” she said. “I don’t know the possibility of it happening, but it’s definitely in the back of our mind if it’s possible.”Said Jackson: “I haven’t really been following along with it, so I’m just taking it one year at a time and really trying to enjoy my senior year.”But here is where the wrench comes in. Let's say all four of those seniors return.From a numbers standpoint, that would keep the current roster of 16 together. Where do the five incoming high school commits go?From a playing time standpoint, Campbell Flynn played her true freshman season behind the Big Ten Player and Setter of the Year. Reilly is back for Flynn's sophomore season. Would they be able to overlap for a third straight year? What about those who have sat behind All-Americans Murray and Jackson?Campbell Flynn is the heir apparent to Bergen Reilly as Nebraska's starting setter. | Kenny Larabee, KLINNebraska has not lost a single player to the transfer portal since Dani Busboom Kelly took over. Expect that to change after the 2026 season, whether or not all four seniors make their return.The situation will only build on itself each year as players and coaches make roster decisions to stay or go.FootballMatt Rhule lost his 22-game starter injury and then the transfer portal. Now, his quarterback situation might be the best it has been since he got to Lincoln.Anthony Colandrea comes in from UNLV and will be the starter at quarterback in 2026. He played one season for the Rebels after two for Virginia. That means he could play both this fall and in 2027.Being able to keep Colandrea for another season means incoming five-star QB Trae Taylor may not be counted on to come in right away and be the starter. It also means Taylor and the rest of the 2027 class will have eligibility through 2031.Nebraska quarterback commit Trae Taylor walks around the field at Memorial Stadium ahead of the 2026 Red-White Spring Game. | Kenny Larabee, KLINRhule has expressed a desire and shown more of an ability in this aspect of college football at development over high-level transfer acquisition. Having five years with a player could be big for his type of program.All 14 true freshman begin their careers on a true 5-for-5 clock. The 11 freshmen who redshirted last year have four years remaining.As for the 18 seniors, Colandrea is among six Huskers who could pick up an extra season. The others are edge Cam Lenhardt, cornerback Andrew Marshall, safety Jamir Conn, cornerback Victor Evans III, and offensive lineman Brednan Black.Already a multi-year starter in college, Anthony Colandrea could be the starting quarterback at Nebraska in both 2026 and 2027. | Quarterback Anthony Colandrea during the Nebraska football spring game on March 28, 2026.Janiran Bonner is in a different situation, in which he may fall under the old rules. That would mean a waiver was utilized for his 2025 injury season and kept him with two seasons of eligibility to play: 2026 and 2027.Men's BasketballFresh off a Sweet 16 run and the best season in program history, Nebrasketball has six players who will be impacted by the change. Transfers Taj DeGourville (now three remaining) and Boden Kapke (2) would each gain an additional season, as would returners Leo Curtis (4) and Pryce Sandfort (2). Incoming freshman Colin Rice and Jacob Lanier get the full effect of the 5-for-5.Braden Frager, a rising star who will step into a starting role next season, will have four years of eligibility left to use. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesThe rest of the roster would be on a normal clock after utilizing a redshirt at some point in their careers.With Sandfort being the only senior who could then return—he won't because the NBA will be calling—there won't be any worries next offseason about having too many guys around.An interesting wrinkle for this upcoming season is what happens with Jamarques Lawrence. He spent his first two years in Lincoln before transferring to Rhode Island and subsequently returning to Nebraska last season. Fred Hoiberg has one open roster spot, and if legal challenges succeed, Lawrence could be in line to return for a fifth season of college ball and run it back with the Huskers.Attorneys Ryan Downton & Darren Heitner say they are planning to file legal action on behalf of more than 50 basketball players seeking a fifth season in light of the NCAA's new 5-year eligibility rule. Lawsuits will be filed in five different states starting this week. https://t.co/twRxfO60CQ— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) June 23, 2026Women's BasketballThe biggest advantage Amy Williams just picked up: three more seasons of eligibility for Britt Prince. The two-year starter and program centerpiece was first-team All-Big Ten as a sophomore.The 12-person roster only has four seniors at the moment. Allison Weidner, if she can finally be healthy and play again, is heading into her final year. Emily Fisher, Logan Nissley, and Edessa Noyan would each be able to return for 2027-28.Nebraska guard Britt Prince will have three years of eligibility remaining after having already started 62 games for the Huskers. | Kenny Larabee, KLINElsewhere, Amiah Hargrove gains an additional season for not having used her redshirt. Kennadi Williams and Arek Angui are both redshirt sophomores. Those three have three seasons of eligibility remaining.Natalie Potts could have a Janiran Bonner-type situation. She suffered a season-ending injury early in the 2024-25 campaign. That injury kept her out for the 2025-26 season as well. Under the old rules, she would have a redshirt year for one of those and a medical waiver for the other, giving her eligibility through the 2028-29 season. We'll see how it all plays out.The trio of true freshman in Ashlyn Koupal, Ava Miles, and Maddi Stewart get a full five seasons to play.Baseball and SoftballA year too late to tap into a stellar senior class for softball. However, players like Jordy Frahm, who took a redshirt year to recover from injury, would have exhausted their five seasons anyway.Both sports are currently going through open transfer portal windows, so the full effect of 5-for-5 on these programs won't be known until the rosters reach their final construction.Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow