The Duke University men’s lacrosse players whose season was canceled last year — following a rape allegation that was ultimately found to be false — will get another year of athletic eligibility, the NCAA announced today.

“These individuals were involved in an unusual circumstance that we believe warrants providing them the opportunity to complete their four years of competition,” Jennifer Strawley, the NCAA’s director of student-athlete reinstatement and membership services, said in a written statement.

Duke had requested the extra year, which is typically granted to individual players who get injured, for all team members who were not seniors in 2005-6. The students can use it to play for Duke or any other NCAA institution.

The waiver was another chapter in the rest of the story for the Blue Devils, who played in the Division I national-championship game on Monday. They lost to the Johns Hopkins University, 12-11. —Sara Lipka