[2006alum]

some info here (and in the links in the article)

http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/rese...division-i

and in something I did not know you don't to enter a graduate program you can begin pursuing a second undergrad degree or general post-baccalaureate coursework

Although it varies by sport, overall 76% of postgraduates enter graduate programs, while 24% pursue a second undergraduate major/degree or general post-baccalaureate coursework (Table 1).

and more here

https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/researc...ts-ppt.pdf

and not all that many grad transfers actually get a graduate degree within two years (50% overall, 34% in MBB and 31% in football) and I'd guess that even if you extended the tracking period to 3 or 4 years that the rates would not go up much. 

The alumni database shows Brennan Scarlett as having gotten his MS Management Science & Engineering in 2016 so he was one of the ones who completed his degree

http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/rese...t-athletes

I could be wrong, but I read that as saying that some students who are still burning their 4 years of eligibility are technically postgraduates, but I don't think that's the same thing as saying that after you graduate from college, you can automatically stay and keep accumulating units. For example, Sabrina Ionescu already graduated from Oregon and is now pursuing a master's while in her fourth year of eligibility. She's a postgraduate student-athlete, but not a transfer. And if she were using her fourth year of eligibility to pursue a second bachelor's, she'd still be considered a postgraduate student, albeit one who is pursing a second bachelor's.

That same link defines a graduate transfer as:

“Graduate transfers” were defined as student-athletes who previously earned a bachelor’s degree and then enrolled during the 2017-18 academic year (labeled as “2018” in the following charts) as a graduate student at a different Division I college.

That suggests that anyone entering the portal is not seeking a second bachelor's. So unless Stanford allows students who are eligible to graduate to nonetheless stay on a fifth year in pursuit of more undergraduate credits, I suspect any Stanford red-shirt junior entering the portal is doing so because they need to seek out a graduate degree to qualify for a fourth year on the field. And I strongly, strongly suspect that Stanford forces students who are eligible to graduate in four years to do so, because otherwise wouldn't every Stanford athlete who could drag it out so they could get a fifth year on the Farm? I know I would have, had I had the opportunity!! ;) I would guess it's easier at state schools to stick around for a second bachelor's or to drag it out to five years -- indeed, at Berkeley, it's common to need 5 or even 6 years to be able to finish a single bachelor's degree, given how oversubscribed a lot of STEM required classes are...

[2006alum]

some info here (and in the links in the article)

http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/rese...division-i

and in something I did not know you don't to enter a graduate program you can begin pursuing a second undergrad degree or general post-baccalaureate coursework

Although it varies by sport, overall 76% of postgraduates enter graduate programs, while 24% pursue a second undergraduate major/degree or general post-baccalaureate coursework (Table 1).

and more here

https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/researc...ts-ppt.pdf

and not all that many grad transfers actually get a graduate degree within two years (50% overall, 34% in MBB and 31% in football) and I'd guess that even if you extended the tracking period to 3 or 4 years that the rates would not go up much. 

The alumni database shows Brennan Scarlett as having gotten his MS Management Science & Engineering in 2016 so he was one of the ones who completed his degree

http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/rese...t-athletes

I could be wrong, but I read that as saying that some students who are still burning their 4 years of eligibility are technically postgraduates, but I don't think that's the same thing as saying that after you graduate from college, you can automatically stay and keep accumulating units. For example, Sabrina Ionescu already graduated from Oregon and is now pursuing a master's while in her fourth year of eligibility. She's a postgraduate student-athlete, but not a transfer. And if she were using her fourth year of eligibility to pursue a second bachelor's, she'd still be considered a postgraduate student, albeit one who is pursing a second bachelor's.

That same link defines a graduate transfer as:

“Graduate transfers” were defined as student-athletes who previously earned a bachelor’s degree and then enrolled during the 2017-18 academic year (labeled as “2018” in the following charts) as a graduate student at a different Division I college.

That suggests that anyone entering the portal is not seeking a second bachelor's. So unless Stanford allows students who are eligible to graduate to nonetheless stay on a fifth year in pursuit of more undergraduate credits, I suspect any Stanford red-shirt junior entering the portal is doing so because they need to seek out a graduate degree to qualify for a fourth year on the field. And I strongly, strongly suspect that Stanford forces students who are eligible to graduate in four years to do so, because otherwise wouldn't every Stanford athlete who could drag it out so they could get a fifth year on the Farm? I know I would have, had I had the opportunity!! ;) I would guess it's easier at state schools to stick around for a second bachelor's or to drag it out to five years -- indeed, at Berkeley, it's common to need 5 or even 6 years to be able to finish a single bachelor's degree, given how oversubscribed a lot of STEM required classes are...