[DenverCard]

I had the impression that in years past, it was very difficult to be on the football team and graduate in four years.  Players took a slightly reduced academic load (say 13 credit hours per quarter, rather than the 15 necessary to graduate on time, at least per the numbers that applied when I was at Stanford).  This kept them eligible, but it meant that they did not attain 180 credit hours until their 5th year.

It seems to me that more recently, players come to Stanford with plenty of AP credits and/or they attend school in the summer, both of which I don't think were common, say, 20 years ago.  (By the time he graduated HS two years ago, my nephew racked up 80 AP credits in high school, which, back in the day, would be worth almost two years of study in college.)  As as result of these other ways to get to 180 credit hours, which players are likely to reach well before the end of their 4th year, there is no good reason to stay into a fifth year.

[DenverCard]

I had the impression that in years past, it was very difficult to be on the football team and graduate in four years.  Players took a slightly reduced academic load (say 13 credit hours per quarter, rather than the 15 necessary to graduate on time, at least per the numbers that applied when I was at Stanford).  This kept them eligible, but it meant that they did not attain 180 credit hours until their 5th year.

It seems to me that more recently, players come to Stanford with plenty of AP credits and/or they attend school in the summer, both of which I don't think were common, say, 20 years ago.  (By the time he graduated HS two years ago, my nephew racked up 80 AP credits in high school, which, back in the day, would be worth almost two years of study in college.)  As as result of these other ways to get to 180 credit hours, which players are likely to reach well before the end of their 4th year, there is no good reason to stay into a fifth year.