NCAA set to grant penalty-free one-time transfer rule, effective 2021

The NCAA is expected to pass a one-time, penalty-free transfer rule in January, which will then go into effect in August of 2021, according to Sports Illustrated.

According to SI’s Pat Forde and Ross Dellenger, proposed legislation will be sent to Division I council members later this week. The council will allow athletes to transfer one time, with no fear of being ineligible or sitting out a year. Fall and spring sport athletes will need to notify their universities their intentions to transfer before May 1, unless unforeseen circumstances arise, such as a coaching change or a students scholarship is not renewed for the following year. Then, the deadline is pushed back to July 1.

Also to be proposed is that universities will no longer be allowed restrict transfers to specific schools, such as a rival school or conference foe.

This ruling would be beneficial in every way possible for John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats, as they could feasibly go after anyone in college basketball, with no restrictions, no fear of sitting out, and not limiting themselves to just graduate transfers. In this case, Kentucky would not have to wait for guys like Olivier Sarr and Jacob Toppin to be cleared by the NCAA and SEC, as they would already be eligible.

With Calipari trending towards using more grad-transfers, as well as non-graduate each year, this new rule should be a big win for Kentucky.