NEW RULES
NCAA considers major change to little-known rule with athletes facing eligibility problems when transferring schools
Use of the transfer portal has been increasing
THE NCAA is considering a major rule change surrounding athletes transferring schools.
The NIL era of college football has seen insane numbers of athletes hitting the transfer portal every year, and the NCAA is looking to regulate the mass amounts of transfers.
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In 2023, over 2,400 college athletes in football alone entered the transfer portal.
In college basketball, over 800 men's players have entered the transfer portal since the end of the 2023-24 season just last month.
The NCAA has been working hard to regulate the massive amounts of talent moving between schools but also needs to navigate US laws while doing so.
Before the newest transfer and NIL rules were implemented in 2022, athletes who transferred had to sit out a year before playing for their new team.
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With the change, players could immediately play for their new team, but if they decided to transfer again, they would be forced to sit out a year.
The NCAA Division I Council is now working to adopt emergency legislation to once again change the transfer rules, allowing players to play immediately regardless of how many times they transfer.
Athletes would still be prohibited from transferring schools midseason, but they would now have the ability to switch schools as many times as they desire.
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The NCAA was forced into this policy change after a West Virginia judge presented a ruling going against the NCAA's bylaws stopping players from transferring multiple times.
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In an even further hit to the NCAA, the US Department of Justice joined the lawsuit saying the transfer bylaws violated antitrust laws.
The NCAA agreed on a preliminary injunction to amend their transfer bylaws that runs through the end of this year.
The Division I Council's next meeting is scheduled for April 17-18 and could instate permanent transfer rule bylaws that align with the judge's ruling.
TOP TRANSFER ATHLETES
In this new era of college athletics, most of the top players entering professional sports aren't homegrown talents.
In the 2024 NFL Draft, three of the top five quarterback prospects are transfer athletes.
Caleb Williams moved from Oklahoma to USC to follow his head coach Lincoln Riley.
Jayden Daniels started his career at Arizona State before transferring to LSU and winning a Heisman Trophy there.
Bo Nix spent three years at Auburn before transferring to Oregon and transforming himself into one of the best quarterbacks in college football.
The transfer portal is here to stay, so the NCAA will likely work hard on perfecting the process so that nothing goes wrong in the future.
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