The National Collegiate Athletics Association gives its student athletes four years of eligibility to play their respective sports. Most students’ eligibility is used during their, usually first, four years of undergraduate studying.

However, students are able to do what is known as “redshirting,” which is where, if they do not play during one of the four years during their undergraduate career for reasons such as injury or COVID-19, that year of not playing does not count towards their four years of eligibility.

Student athletes whose eligibility goes past their senior year of college because they could not, or did not, play one of their four undergraduate years are called 5th year athletes.

Wofford has a handful of 5th year athletes every year, and next year will be no different. One team that consistently has fifth year athletes is the football team.

Eight athletes on the football team are slated to be 5th year athletes next year: John Boyles ‘24, Bryce Corriston ‘24, Anthony Garcia ‘24, Ryan Ingram ‘24, Briggs Kearse ‘24, Anthonie Lattany ‘24, David Legette ‘24 and Isaiah Wadsworth ‘24. 

Both Corriston and Ingram have two more years of eligibility to play, from COVID-19 and injuries, and are playing their last season with football in the fall as 5th years.

“It’s another chance to keep going and making myself better,” said Ingram. “It’ll be more relaxing, not being worried about classes so much, just football, getting locked in.”

Being a 5th year gives Corriston, Ingram and other athletes like them another year to hone in their skills and to use the experience they have to become a better athlete. They are also able to bring in what they have learned through being a student athlete through injuries and COVID-19.

“We’ve (gone) through a lot of adversity in the first few years that I’ve been here, so just being able to go through that, we get better from that,” said Corriston.

Going through a season of COVID-19, where sports were not being played but practice was in still place, helped to give the 5th years on the football team, as well as all other sport teams, more experience and time to work on their skills outside of intercollegiate games.

This time to work on skills and gain more experience, on top of being a small group of older players, gives 5th year athletes the opportunity to help lead their teams. 

“I have a lot of experience, so just helping out any way I can: being a guy that they can look up to and helping them out with whatever problems they have on the field or off the field,” said Corriston

As leaders on and off the field, 5th year athletes make up an important part of their teams by having the most experience playing at the collegiate level of their sports, having built up skills at this level of competition and having a knowledge of what Wofford athletics looks like on the field and in the locker room.

With many teams having a handful of 5th years on their teams, Wofford athletics seems to have a culture that makes students want to keep playing.

“The guys, the team, the brotherhood, the bond. The new coaching staff has been cool, so it’s just new energy in the building. Yeah, that’s why I’m excited to come back,” said Ingram.