re: Kenny Stills To LSU More Likely Now!

From the top. The base rule for all intercollegiate sports is that a student-athlete (SA) has a 5 year time limit to compete in 4 of those years.

A "Medical Hardship" is applied for through the conference office and as long as the SA meets the criteria, the conference office will grant a medical hardship waiver. This waiver allows a SA that has competed during the season to be able to not count the season as one of the 4 competition years (again, as long as the criteria is met).

To apply for a "sixth year" (ala Charles Alexander), the school has to apply through the NCAA to have the 5 year limit extended due to circumstances beyond the SA's control. This is why it most likely occurs when a SA has two separate seasons that he meets the criteria of the "med hardship waiver."

The NCAA looks at a normal redshirt year as within the SA's control, so this fact does not help in the argument of getting an extension beyond the 5 year limit.