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NCAA Division 1 Council met to discuss changing rules for Student-Athletes

By Shereen Rayan

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - MARCH 06: The NCAA logo is seen on the wall as Yeshiva players warmup prior to playing against Worcester Polytechnic Institute during the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship - First Round at Goldfarb Gymnasium on at Johns Hopkins University on March 6, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. On Thursday, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced that Maryland had confirmed three cases of residents with COVID-19, otherwise known as the Coronavirus, prompting Johns Hopkins officials to host the NCAA men's basketball tournament without spectators. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - MARCH 06: The NCAA logo is seen on the wall as Yeshiva players warmup prior to playing against Worcester Polytechnic Institute during the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship - First Round at Goldfarb Gymnasium on at Johns Hopkins University on March 6, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. On Thursday, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced that Maryland had confirmed three cases of residents with COVID-19, otherwise known as the Coronavirus, prompting Johns Hopkins officials to host the NCAA men's basketball tournament without spectators. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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LUBBOCK, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 26: Linebacker Colin Schooler #17 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders lines up for a play during the second half of the college football game against the Texas Longhorns on September 26, 2020 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)

Changing Transfer Rules

Currently, grad students are allowed to play immediately when they transfer to a new school, especially if they still have a year of eligibility left and want to try a different program for various reasons including visibility, a new coach and chance to play more. But it gets murky with every other Student-Athletes.

Often players wait for the NCAA to make exceptions to the rule of having to sit out one year before you play. Take Ryan Anderson (Boston College) and T.J. McConnell (Duquesne) for example. Both players transferred to Arizona and had to sit out a year not playing, meanwhile they still practiced and traveled with the team.

Throw in injuries, red shirts, grades/eligibility and other issues into the pot and it gets kind of cloudy for some athletes who transfer and want to play immediately. For example, former Arizona lineman Michael Eletise transferred, and it worked out great, receiving a waiver immediately!

He played for the University of Hawaii in his first season after transferring, and the team earned a bowl game appearance. However, not everyone is as fortunate.

The D1 Council is looking to change that with that latest proposal, as the rule change will expand the Transfer Exception. The council will be voting on that rule change, and this is the proposed rule change according to the NCAA:

"All Division I student-athletes would have the ability to transfer and compete immediately once during their collegiate experience if a measure introduced by the Division I Council is adopted. The proposal would expand the current one-time transfer exception to all sports."

Again, another huge change that would help players have more control over their collegiate careers.

While it may give coaches a bigger headache when it comes to recruiting, however, each coach would also be able to benefit from this if there were players who wanted to play for Arizona for example.

This puts the onus on the head coach and the Program to do well to attract not only recruits, but one-time transfers as well. And with today’s technology, the players talk and have a good idea what programs are toxic, etc.

The Transfer team is chaired by the commissioner of the Mid-American Conference and vice chair of the Council,  Jon Steinbrecher.  Here are the stipulations per the NCAA:

  • Both the head coach at the new school and the student-athlete must certify that no tampering took place.
  • It also provides the option for the Council to set deadlines by which student-athletes must provide written notification of transfer to their school: May 1 for fall and winter sport student-athletes and July 1 for spring sport student-athletes.
  • Some exceptions would apply in cases of a head coaching change or cancelled athletics scholarship. (This is something Rich Rodriguez has been pushing for for years.)
  • Transferring college athletes also would have to meet progress-toward-degree requirements and be otherwise academically eligible in order to compete after transfer.
  • Schools would be required to educate all student-athletes regarding the impacts and implications of transferring, including academic requirements and financial aid policies.
  • An online module would be created to assist schools with ensuring student-athletes can access this education, which is intended to help student-athletes make informed transfer decisions.

Again, the decision will be made in January 2021 for the 2021/2022 seasons.

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