There are a few redshirt rules that every athlete needs to look out for when going through the process. Depending on your NCAA division, these redshirt rules can differ.

Every student-athlete has their problems whether it is personal, an injury, playing time, or school-related but these could cause an athlete to not be able to compete during a season of their collegiate career. Redshirting is most common freshman year. This could be to give them time to adjust or if a coach feels that they will be more impactful as an older and more mature player. However, redshirting is not necessarily a bad thing. It gives athletes a chance to improve mentally and physically before being thrown on the field.

When an athlete decides to redshirt it means that they decide to not compete for one season. In other words, you can postpone your eligibility for one year. The one exception is track and field. Because many track and field athletes compete for three seasons in one year, an athlete is only allowed to redshirt for one season whether that is cross country, indoor track, or outdoor track. Although the athlete is not allowed to compete, they are still allowed to go to all of the practices to train with their team throughout the season which is a great way to improve. The rules for redshirting change depending on the division:

Division I:

In Division I, athletes have five full years to complete four years of competition during their time as a student-athlete. This five-year clock starts as soon as they enroll as a full-time athlete. 

Division II:

In Division II, athletes have 10 semesters to participate with the team and four years in which they can compete.

Division III:

Student-athletes at the Division III level are not allowed to have elective redshirt status. However, in certain cases, medical redshirting is allowed when an athlete plays ⅓ or less of their season before an injury. If this is the case, coaches can file paperwork with the NCAA to restore it as a season of eligibility. 

In all sports, you are allowed to play up to four games and still be able to redshirt. Unfortunately, time does not matter when it comes to redshirting. Even if an athlete only played for 20 minutes all season, if it was for more than four games then redshirting is not an option.