NCAA president Myles Brand said he isn't necessarily opposed to a recent proposal by the NCAA football issues committee that would extend player eligibility in the sport to five years.

Brand, speaking Friday at the Women's College World Series, even said the idea "might be favorable" if it included the elimination of the practice of redshirting.

Brand said that 80 percent of Division I football players are being redshirted and that it takes the average student about 4.7 years to graduate from college.

"I think if we do it right, to make sure student-athletes actually have educational activities throughout their five years, which approximates the actual practice, and we do away with medical redshirting [and] actual redshirting, I don't see anything wrong with that," Brand said.

The NCAA football issues committee, led by Nebraska athletic director Steve Pederson, has requested that the proposal be discussed at the spring meetings of Division I football-playing conferences. Even if the idea gains support, it would have to go through several NCAA committees before a membership vote.

During a wide-ranging news conference, Brand also said that he doesn't sense support among universities for a college football playing system and that the Academic Progress Report system -- which measures eligibility and retention of student-athletes and mandates penalties for schools not meeting certain requirements -- "is not going anywhere."

Brand said much of the support for a football playoff came from the media, and not necessarily the universities or their fans.

"The reason for that is, in Division I-A football, the most important events are the regular-season Saturday games," Brand said. "... The fact of the matter is it's those Saturdays that the institutions look forward to, and a great many in their fan base do [as well].

"If you ask me why don't we really have a playoff at this point, I think the real answer is there is concern about putting at risk the regular season, the Saturday afternoons, the traditional rivalries. Can you figure out a way to get both? I think that will be the question that is asked. Right now, as far as I can tell, unless something changes, we're going to stay where we are."

Florida president Bernie Machen had developed a playoff plan, but said earlier Friday that he was backing off after talking about the issue with others who attended the Southeastern Conference's spring meeting in Destin, Fla. Machen said it would be better to work within the confines of the Bowl Championship Series system.

Brand said he isn't surprised there is debate about having a playoff.

"Over the next year or two, we're going to see some conversation," he said. "Where that will lead is not clear. Where is the NCAA's role in it? The NCAA's role in it is to be supportive of the schools and the conferences for whatever it is they decide to do."

Ok, here's the thing I like most about this idea. How many times does a team have a really good player that's a true freshman but he's been sitting all year because the plan was to redshirt him. Then you get down to the end of the season and there are some times when he could contribute but the staff doesn't want to blow an entire redshirt season for a handful of plays at the end.
This way, with no redshirts, you can use that kid at the end of games that are blowouts AND in those situations down the stretch when he's more ready from a full season of practices, studying the playbook and watching film. I think this improves the quality of the game, if it happens.
The other thing I expect is you might get some guys, let's say for example Mike Hart and Chad Henne. They are great in the college game, but what if the end of the year comes and there are a ton of juniors that had great seasons and it looks like they'll be 2nd or 3rd round picks, at best? Maybe there are some stud immediate impact players coming and they think one last chance might get them a National Championship. Maybe they decide to stay and play a 5th year.
This brings up one thing I don't like. It pretty much craps on history. Would record books be divided based on pre- and post- 5 year plan? Example: Henne is likely to break a number of UM passing records this year. But, hypothetically (if this rule was adopted and in place for next season and Henne had the option) if Henne stayed and played a 5th full season he would move up the NCAA record books in some categories and it wouldn't be an accurate representation of the real impact guys had. You may be comparing Henne's # of TD passes that he threw over the course of 60+ games when another guy that he just passed only played in 30 games. The other guy had twice the impact when he played, but now he's being hurt in the record books by the fact that he didn't have a 5th year.
I also wonder this - take a look at guys like Rondell Biggs at Michigan, or Mark Bihl, Reuben Riley, Willis Barringer, or at State Matt Trannon, Jerramy Scott or David Herron. My argument may be flawed here because some or all of these guys might have taken a redshirt year, but nevertheless none of these guys were drafted. Any of them that hadn't redshirted - couldn't they have a bigger impact for Michigan or Michigan State than whoever will take over for them this season? And what if they do decide to stay? They take up a scholarship spot that might limit the number of scholarships that school can give to their incoming class - which they would likely want to know how many scholarships they have to offer at some point before or during the season, since they have a limited time afterward to offer a guy (aren't the last 2 or 3 weeks before the early February LOI day a time when coaches can't contact a recruit?)
You can see there's a lot to work out, with pros and cons, but it's something very interesting to think about.

I like the idea alot. I first heard about it a week or so ago, a small blurb on MSN or something, then nothing until you put that up Jethro.
Get rid of the redshirt and give them an extra year--that's a simple good fix for college football.

The only problem really is that some records might get shattered with an extra year. I imagine that would be rare because if you have a 4 year starter that's putting up great numbers, he is probably going to go to the draft anyway.