Redshirt ( college sports ) Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to delaying or suspending an athlete ' s participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility . Typically , a student ' s athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons , a number derived from the four years of academic classes that are normally required to obtain a bachelor ' s degree at an American college or university . However , a student - athlete may be offered the opportunity to redshirt for one year which allows the athlete to spread those four years of eligibility over five years . In a redshirt year , a student athlete may attend classes at the college or university , practice with an athletic team , and dress for play but he or she may not compete during the game . Using this mechanism , a student athlete has up to five academic years to use the four years of eligibility , thus creating the phenomenon of the " fifth - year senior . " The term is used as a verb , noun , and adjective . For example , a coach may choose to redshirt a player who is then referred to as a redshirt freshman or simply a redshirt . Reasons . There are many reasons a student - athlete will become a redshirt . A student - athlete may redshirt to gain a year of practice with the team prior to participating in competition . In college football , a student - athlete may redshirt to add size prior to participating , since football tends to favor larger players . Since the college years coincide with the typical completion of physical maturity , using a year of eligibility in the last college year is generally more beneficial to the team and to the student - athlete ' s potential professional prospects than it is to use the same year of eligibility in the first college year . Players , especially in football , may redshirt to learn the team ' s play book , since college teams typically run more complex and more plays than most high school teams . Contrary to common belief , the redshirt rules state that any amount of participation in a competition will trigger the use of a season of competition , and therefore he / she may not redshirt that season . An athlete may be asked to redshirt if he or she would have no opportunity to play as an academic freshman . This is a common occurrence in many sports where there is already an established starter or too much depth at the position in which the freshman in question is planning to play . There is also a medical redshirt that may be obtained to replace a season lost to injury . A medical redshirt , called a " medical hardship " by the NCAA , can be granted by the governing body for a season lost completely or almost completely to injury . If a player plays in 30 % or less of his / her team ' s games , then suffers a season ending injury , a medical redshirt may be granted . A medical redshirt can allow a player to gain additional eligibility beyond the standard four academic calendar years . On rare occasions , a player may be allowed to play in his or her sixth year of college if he or she suffered a serious injury which kept him or her from playing for more than one season . The term redshirt freshman indicates an academic sophomore ( second - year student ) who is in the first season of athletic eligibility . A redshirt freshman is distinguished from a true freshman ( first - year student ) as one who has practiced with the team for the prior season . The term redshirt sophomore is also commonly used to indicate an academic junior ( third - year student ) who is in the second season of athletic eligibility . After the sophomore year the term redshirt is rarely used , instead the terms fourth - year junior and fifth - year senior are more common . Athletes may also utilize a grayshirt year in which they attend school , but cannot enroll as a full - time student , and do not receive a scholarship for that year . This means that they are an unofficial member of the team and do not participate in practices , games , or receive financial assistance from their athletic department . Typically , grayshirts occur when a player is injured right before college and requires an entire year to recuperate . Rather than waste his or her redshirt , the player can attend school as a part - time regular student and then join the team later . Use of status . While the redshirt status may be conferred by a coach at the beginning of the year , it is not confirmed until the end of the season , and more specifically , it does not rule a player ineligible in advance to participate in the season . If a player shows great talent , or there are injuries on the team , the coach may remove the redshirt status and allow the player to participate in competition for the remainder of the year . However , NCAA rules are quite clear on the use of redshirt status : any participation in any competition counts as a season of eligibility . For example , even a single play in a football game counts as participation for an entire season , so coaches cannot play redshirt players at the end of a game simply to get them some experience .