Over the summer, the NCAA Division I Council endorsed a recommendation that would have allowed college athletes to transfer an unlimited amount of times without losing eligibility. But at the 2023 NCAA Convention on Wednesday in San Antonio, the organization took a step in the opposite direction by limiting eligibility for second-time transfers.
Undergraduate athletes must now meet a strict set of criteria in order to receive a waiver to transfer more than once. Second-time transfers will have to provide proof of a physical injury, mental health condition, or other “exigent circumstances that clearly necessitate” an immediate departure, such as abuse or sexual assault.
Notably, academics are no longer an accepted reason to transfer. Additionally, those seeking to transfer for athletic reasons such as a lack of playing time or position preference will not be granted waivers either. If second-time transfers do not meet the new requirements for a waiver, they must sit out a year.
It’s a curious decision considering the NCAA has backed off its typical level of regulation during the NIL era as the organization faces several impending legal battles arguing that college athletes should be classified as employees. The less restrictions the NCAA places on its athletes, the easier it will be for the organization to refute that argument in a courtroom.
But its latest move restraining the movement of its athletes seems to invite further lawsuits centered around violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act, which prohibits activities that restrict interstate commerce and competition in the marketplace. The best hope for the NCAA, soon to be led by former Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker, appears to be securing an antitrust exemption from Congress.
Coaches, administrators, and college students who are not varsity athletes are not subject to the new restrictions.
Last fall, the NCAA made it more difficult to transfer with its implementation of two-month windows to enter the portal.
Also at the 2023 NCAA Convention, the Division I Council voted to eliminate the voluntary coach designation and instead include those coaches within a new limit for countable coaches in each sport. The Council also voted to get rid of the standardized test requirement for initial eligibility. Since 2020, standardized test requirements have been waived due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If the coach bails, the athletes should be able to bail too.
The right decision imo
Transfers and 5th years have been getting ridiculous and thank goodness next year is the last year of 5th year swimmers (other than Grant House and Hugo Gonzalez who have waivers to swim through the 2029-2030 collegiate swim season)