Colorado Buffaloes senior Rachel Hargis plays against Texas Christian University during the 2013 NIT Tournament. (Elizabeth Rodriguez/CU Independent)
In 2013, the NCAA estimated that only 3.7 percent of high school women’s basketball players go on to play in the NCAA. But of that percentage, how many use their fifth year of eligibility to play another sport?
While there’s no statistic for that, the only one that we know of is Colorado volleyball player Rachel Hargis.
Hargis, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology this past May, was a member of the Colorado women’s basketball team from 2010-2014. After completing her basketball career, she tried out for Colorado’s women’s volleyball team this past spring and made the team as a walk-on. She reapplied to CU for the upcoming semester, this time pursuing a bachelor’s degree in evolutionary biology.
Listed as a middle blocker for the volleyball team, Hargis has played in 10 sets overall for the Buffaloes, who boast an 8-1 record so far this season. In terms of experience she is among the new crop of Buffaloes, but as a fifth-year college athlete, Hargis is no newbie.
“It’s more talking and communicating with my teammates, like pushing people and holding people accountable,” she says. “All that kind of stuff I still do, and I’ve taken from basketball over to volleyball.”
Hargis is able to play volleyball now after four years with the basketball team because of the NCAA’s five-year rule. This rule states that a student has five full years of eligibility in college sports starting with their first semester of competition. Since Hargis’ first basketball game with CU was in November 2009, she remains eligible for college athletics this semester. While the rule states that an athlete is not allowed to participate in more than four seasons for one sport, it does not prevent a player from using their last year of eligibility in a different sport.
Hargis says her interest in playing volleyball goes back to her early years at CU, when her first roommate was a member of the volleyball team.
“Between my sophomore and junior year I worked volleyball camps and I played some open gym with them,” she says.
Hargis says from then on the volleyball coaches knew of her, and after the basketball season ended this past spring, they got in touch with her about trying out.
She says although sometimes she feels “like a freshman” figuring out her role with the volleyball team, the adjustment has been smoother with already understanding life as a college athlete within the basketball program.
“It’s definitely a lot easier the second time around starting a new sport, because you don’t have to worry about all the adjusting of school and travel and the time that it takes up,” she says. “I’m used to all that, so it just allows me to focus on getting better at volleyball.”
As a center for the women’s basketball team, Hargis played in all 34 of their games last season, and recorded 21 blocks.
She also holds a place atop the Colorado women’s basketball record books. After the team’s trip to the 2014 Postseason WNIT tournament last spring, Hargis became the all-time leader in games played for Colorado with 134 games.
After this volleyball season, her period of eligibility for college athletics will be finished. But after five seasons of college athletics in the Coors Events Center, she leaves behind a playing career that few could match.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Sam Routhier at Samuel.routhier@colorado.edu
