You'll recall that I said, "Redshirting can occur under certain circumstances when you do not play at all."
There is no such thing as a medical redshirt. A redshirt means you didn't play.
Red-shirting is when you do not use up a year of eligibility, whether or not it is a medical red-shirt or a "didn't compete at all, red-shirt". Red-shirt is not even an NCAA term, but is commonly used. So yes, O'Tule did red-shirt, under the medical hardship waiver. Here is some information from the NCAA web site that explains it better. If you do a google search, you can find other information that explains red-shirting in both medical hardship terms and no competition terms. The end result is the same, you red-shirted that year.
According to the ncaa website (a bunch of .pdf files)
Red Shirt
Red shirting is not an official NCAA term, but the term is used when a student-athlete does not participate
in any competition during a particular academic year (i.e., neither in the championship nor the nonchampionship
segment of the playing season). A student-athlete may be red-shirted at any point in his/her
athletic career.
A “medical red shirt” is not an official NCAA term either, but the term is used when a student-athlete is
injured after participating in a limited amount of competition during a particular academic year and then
qualifies for a Medical Hardship Waiver. More detailed information regarding Medical Hardship Waivers is
included below.
Medical Hardship Waiver
If a student-athlete suffers a season-ending injury or illness after competing in a limited amount of
competition during a particular academic year, he/she may qualify for a medical hardship waiver which
would allow him/her an additional season of competition during the five-year period of eligibility. To qualify
for a medical hardship:
• The student-athlete’s injury or illness must occur in one of the four seasons of intercollegiate
competition at any two-year or four-year collegiate institution or occur subsequent to the first day of
classes in the student-athlete's senior year in high school;
• The injury or illness must occur prior to the completion of the first half of the playing season that
concludes with the NCAA championship in that sport (measured by the number of scheduled contests
or dates of competition) and result in incapacity to compete for the remainder of that playing season;
and
• The injury or illness must occur when the student-athlete has not participated in more than two
contests or dates of competition (whichever is applicable to that sport) or 20 percent (whichever
number is greater) of the institution's scheduled or completed contests or dates of competition in his or
her sport.
Student-athletes should note that medical hardship waivers are not automatic and, therefore, the studentathlete
should consult with his/her head coach along with the Head Athletic Trainer and Assistant Athletic
Director for Compliance Services.
50 NCAA Compliance
