Eligibility

first, go ask your coach. most of the folks asking on LR about this, working on their own, are transfers, men without a country. if you aren't going anywhere it's in your current school's interests to help sort out added eligibility, the coaches should have some idea on the rules, and it's compliance's job to know.

second, gather documentation. transcripts, medical records, etc. write up a synopsis. this fall i was juco, no running teams, took 6 hours. this spring i transferred here, took 12 hours, hurt my knee, never ran a meet. this fall i was here, was healthy, ran 2 meets, took 15 hours. that will help them sort out/sell eligibility. i think they have to ask your conference for help on the years you were their student. i think you probably burn the juco years off your 5 year/10 semester clock but might be able to call them redshirt if all else fails.

long story short but maybe you get some time back for either covid or medical redshirt. or maybe if not added time an excuse for a 5th season as a normal redshirt without having to be grad school.

i would avoid running unattached unless some authority figure says it won't burn a year. it might affect medical redshirts if you magically pop up running someplace.

fwiw i would get on top of this in a hurry in particular because if i am so eager to run and they give me bad news i'd be like can i at least run some meets this spring. since you sound eager despite saying it might be a wash. i mean if they come back and say sorry you're a junior or senior and the clock is ticking, farting around when you could come back is burning daylight. conversely if you have 3 years left, no panic, and i wouldn't risk one so i could scratch an itch and run an all comer's meet or unattached someplace. if my eligibility is up for discussion i am either burning it for the team now or i am on a shelf. i am not burning it to run unaffiliated for pride or ego.

Assuming you were enrolled full time during all these years, it seems like you have between one year (after this current season) to three more years remaining -with the most likely being one unless you can get a lot of paperwork done and get really lucky.

In your situation, it seems the limiter of eligibility is going to be your enrollment clock rather than the seasons of competition.

In D2 your clock runs whenever you are enrolled in college full-time. So disregarding any waivers, each full-time semester/quarter spent at any college has been going towards your 10 semesters/15 quarters regardless of running.

I'm not sure how the Covid year would work in your case. My understanding (which could be wrong) is that it was a waiver you had to be eligible for and process at the school you were at during Covid, which could be an issue, but since you are just trying to extend your clock rather than trying to get the seasons themselves back it may be a looser requirement.

The illness situation is also tricky, particularly with an unknown illness because it's harder to prove that the illness was legitimately preventing you from running. It will need to be exceptionally well documented to have any chance of getting eligibility back from that.

Regarding unattached competition: if you are trying to get eligibility back for this 2023-2024 academic year due to this illness do not compete at all -can't claim that you're so sick that your clock should be extended then pop up on results. If you aren't trying to get this year back then do whatever you want.

You really need to get a meeting with the athletic departments main compliance officer ASAP to figure out everything you need to do AND what your realistic odds for getting a few years back are.

I was enrolled full time all semesters except this current semester (spring 2024). I am currently on a leave of absence and not attending school.