14.2.4 Hardship Waiver. A student-athlete may be granted an additional year of competition by the conference
or the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement for reasons of “hardship.” Hardship is defined as an
incapacity resulting from an injury or illness that has occurred under all of the following conditions: (Revised:
8/8/02, 11/1/07 effective 8/1/08)
(a) The incapacitating injury or illness occurs in one of the four seasons of intercollegiate competition at any twoyear
or four-year collegiate institutions or occurs after the first day of classes in the student-athlete’s senior year
in high school; (Revised: 1/10/92 effective 8/1/92, 11/1/01, 8/8/02)
(b) The injury or illness occurs prior to the first competition of the second half of the playing season that concludes
with the NCAA championship in that sport (see Bylaw 14.2.4.3.4) and results in incapacity to compete
for the remainder of that playing season; (Revised: 1/14/97 effective 8/1/97, 4/26/01 effective 8/1/01,
4/3/02, 4/24/08)
(c) In team sports, the injury or illness occurs when the student-athlete has not participated in more than three
contests or dates of competition (whichever is applicable to that sport) or 30 percent (whichever number is
greater) of the institution’s scheduled or completed contests or dates of competition in his or her sport. Only
scheduled or completed competition against outside participants during the playing season that concludes
with the NCAA championship, or, if so designated, during the official NCAA championship playing season
in that sport (e.g., spring baseball, fall soccer), shall be countable under this limitation in calculating both the
number of contests or dates of competition in which the student-athlete has participated and the number of
scheduled or completed contests or dates of competition during that season in the sport. Dates of competition
that are exempted (e.g., alumni contests, foreign team in the United States) from the maximum permissible
number of contests or dates of competition shall count toward the number of contests or dates in which the
student-athlete has participated and the number of scheduled or completed contests or dates of competition
in the season, except for scrimmages and exhibition contests that are specifically identified as such in the
sport’s Bylaw 17 playing and practice season regulations. Scrimmages and exhibition contests that are not exempted
from the maximum permissible number of contests or dates of competition may be excluded from the
calculation only if they are identified as such in the sport’s Bylaw 17 playing and practice season regulations;
and (Revised: 1/10/92, 1/14/97 effective 8/1/97, 4/26/01 effective 8/1/01, 3/10/04, 5/11/05, 8/4/05, 4/26/07,
9/18/07, 4/24/08)