[TSteven]

Originally posted by DolphinChicaDDD
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you need a medical reason and doctor's note to redshirt-it can be a big process. if you just don't want to compete and not participate in the season, you would still have the extra season of eligibility.
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You do not need a medical reason to be redshirted.

NCAA Redshirt Definition

The term "redshirt" is used to describe a student-athlete who does not participate in competition in a sport for an entire academic year. If you do not compete in a sport the entire academic year, you have not used a season of competition. For example, if you are a qualifier, and you attend a four-year college your freshman year, and you practice but do not compete against outside competition, you would still have the next four years to play four seasons of competition.

Each student is allowed no more than four seasons of competition per sport. If you were not a qualifier, you may have fewer seasons of competition available to you. You should know that NCAA rules indicate that any competition, regardless of time, during a season counts as one of your seasons of competition in that sport. It does not matter how long you were involved in a particular competition (for example, one play in a football game, one point in a volleyball match); you will be charged with one season of competition.

Please contact the certifying institution or conference for additional information. You also may contact the NCAA membership services staff at 317/917-6222 if you have further questions.

There is also a "medical hardship waiver" which is often referred to as "medical redshirt" by sportswriters and sportscasters.

Definition of a "Medical Redshirt"

Source: Hokie Huddler 11/13/98 Vol. 16 No 10 Pg. 7

Though often called a "medical redshirt" by sportswriters and sportscasters, the actual term is a "medical hardship waiver". The concept goes like this: Every student-athlete who meets the minimum academic standards coming out of high school gets four season of NCAA Division I Competition eligibility in each sport.

If a student-athlete is injured during a season and cannot return to competition, he or she may qualify for another opportunity to utilize that season of competitive eligibility.

To receive a medical hardship waiver - in any sport - the injury must limit the student-athlete’s participation to no more than 20 percent of the team’s contests (rounded to the next whole number), with all participation occurring in the first half of the season.

Therefore, for a football player, the maximum number of games that he can play in and still receive a medical hardship waiver is three (20 percent of 11 equals 2.2, which is rounded up to 3), and none of his time on the field can occur after the fifth game (the sixth game of an eleven game season is considered in the second half of the season).

In the case of a 12 game regular season (ie. Virginia Tech's 2000 home schedule), none of the player's time on the field can occur after the sixth game. The seventh game of a 12 game season is considered in the second half of the season.

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