How is 2007 grad Jannis Topfer still running in college?

The NCAA has rules. They are, in part:

Enrollment. Must sign up for acertain number of classes.

Grades. Certain GPA required.

5-year time limit. From your first year competing, you can do 4 seasons in a given sport over 5 years, meaning you can redshirt one. Some guys F this up my redshirting freshman year and cutting their time from first to last season to 4 years instead of just not getting on any list that and leaving themselves with the whole 5.

If you feel they should add an age restriction, feel free to petition the NCAA to make your preferred rule. Without such a rule in place, I still have 4 years of eligibility left (I haven't used any yet) and I'm in my 50s.

An individual's 5 year clock begins soon as he or she enrolls as full-time student. Does not matter if they are on the team or not.

Maybe this student waited to become a full-time student.

Shouldn't be able to go run in Europe for a few years and then come back and run another 5 years in college.

petition the NCAA wrote:

The NCAA has rules. They are, in part:

Enrollment. Must sign up for acertain number of classes.

Grades. Certain GPA required.

5-year time limit. From your first year competing, you can do 4 seasons in a given sport over 5 years, meaning you can redshirt one. Some guys F this up my redshirting freshman year and cutting their time from first to last season to 4 years instead of just not getting on any list that and leaving themselves with the whole 5.

If you feel they should add an age restriction, feel free to petition the NCAA to make your preferred rule. Without such a rule in place, I still have 4 years of eligibility left (I haven't used any yet) and I'm in my 50s.

If you've run a road race or two, your clock might be running (or expired). I did like that movie with Kathy Ireland as the kicker though.

He definitely ran some races during his hiatus before college.

The dude has a BS in aerospace engineering. Obviously he used his expertise in mathematical models related to the space-time continuum to craft an ingenious eligibility-warp loophole.

Wait, so I can graduate, go run track meets in Europe for a few years, and then come back to the US and have 5 years of eligibility?

This guy should not have eligibility. What a freakin joke!

Don't hate the player, hate the game. He knows how to get it done.

Istanbull dook wrote:

This guy should not have eligibility. What a freakin joke!

Agree.

seattleftw wrote:

Don't hate the player, hate the game. He knows how to get it done.

I believe I am hating the game.

Could some runner high school, train in Boulder for a few years while waiting tables, run some races unattached, and then enroll at CU and still have the same timeframe as a 18 year old straight out of high school?

Ummm, people starting college after 18 is the new norm. There are no rules for when someone has to start college. Rupp did not start college at 18. He was a professional for his first year out of HS.

Ca$h for College: There are also no rules forcing someone to finish a degree in four years. Guess why? That's right, so that colleges can make more money on tuition fees by making students pay for a few extra years of college.

If you compete in the sport then your clock starts whether you are enrolled full time or not. However, "the sport" is track and cross country. Road races may not count.

In Division 1 your clock starts when you graduate from high school, not when you enroll as a full time student. From the year you graduate, you have 5 years to complete 4. I don't know the situation or circumstances surrounding that young man. Maybe he was in the military or went on a religious mission trip. I know the NCAA will/can stop an individual's clock in those situations.

7SS wrote:

In Division 1 your clock starts when you graduate from high school, not when you enroll as a full time student. From the year you graduate, you have 5 years to complete 4. I don't know the situation or circumstances surrounding that young man. Maybe he was in the military or went on a religious mission trip. I know the NCAA will/can stop an individual's clock in those situations.

He was not in the military nor on a mission trip. That's not exactly the rule. I think you have until you are 21 to start using your years? But he ran track meets while he was in Germany for the "gap years", so maybe he only lost track eligibility. Although he still managed to run 2014 track which is 7 years from high school.

#banforeigners

#banoldpeople

thats what it boils down to.

dude sounds like Brandon Weeden. playin football against them young collegians being an old ass dude and all. except foreign as well. ugh.

also, German Wheat beers…terrible.

Did he take a 2 year moron mission?

it is pretty common to see byu runners listed as juniors and seniors when 25-26 years old.

Hey I'm 26. I started full time in college at age 17. Never competed yet but I'm hoping to improve my times and walk on. How many years eligibility would I have if I could make it?