14.4.3.5 Hardship Waiver. A student-athlete may be granted an additional year of competition by the conference or the Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee 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: 1/14/02 effective 8/1/02)

(a) The incapacitating injury or illness occurs in one of the four seasons of intercollegiate competition at any two-year or four-year collegiate institution; (Revised: 1/10/92 effective 8/1/92)

(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 14.4.3.5.2.3) and results in an incapacity to compete for the remainder of that playing season; and (Revised: 1/14/97 effective 8/1/97, 1/14/02 effective 8/1/02, 1/13/03 effective 8/1/03 for any injury or illness occurring on or after 8/1/03, 1/21/17 effective 8/1/17 for any incapacitating injury or illness, or other extenuating circumstance occurring on or after 8/1/17, 1/10/24 effective 8/1/24)

(c) 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 of the maximum permissible number of contests or dates of competition set forth in Bylaw 17 in their sport (see Bylaw 14.4.3.5.2.5.1.1 for information regarding percent calculation in track and field and Bylaw 14.4.3.5.2.5.1.2 for information regarding percent calculation in basketball). Competition (excluding alumni games, fundraising activities, celebrity sports activities, scrimmages and exhibition contests per Bylaw 17 in the applicable sport) 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 basketball, contests played as part of a region challenge shall be countable under this limitation. (Revised: 1/10/92, 1/14/97 effective 8/1/97, 1/14/02 effective 8/1/02, 4/29/04, 1/10/05 for any competition occurring on or after 8/1/04, 1/17/09 effective 8/1/09, 1/16/13, 1/21/17 effective 8/1/17 for any incapacitating injury or illness, or other extenuating circumstance occurring on or after 8/1/17, 4/16/19 Immediate, for student-athletes who initially enroll during the 2019-20 academic year, and thereafter., 1/27/20 effective 8/1/20 for any incapacitating injury or illness, or other extenuating circumstance occurring on or after 08/01/20, 8/26/21, 1/10/24 effective 8/1/24)