New transfer rules being discussed by NCAA

The NCAA seems to be taking the issue of transfers very seriously, as the working group created to look at the issue has been reviewing several different proposals.

Among them include changes that would prevent schools from blocking transfers to other specific schools. This is often done to prevent a player from transferring to another school in that particular conference or to a school that they will compete against in the near future.

One other rule that seems to consistently pop up each year involves players wishing to leave after coaching changes. A proposed rule being looked at would allow players to have immediate eligibility if the coach who they signed to play under leaves following National Signing Day.

Additionally, the working group is still reviewing a proposal to make all transfers immediately eligible, so long as they meet academic requirements such as a GPA between 3.0 and 3.5 and progress-toward-degree requirements, according to an NCAA press release.

The group is looking at several options, and it is unclear exactly what will come of the June votes on the issue.

What is clear is that transfer issues are being taken seriously after being neglected for a while. There have been several issues with transfers that needed to be addressed for a while.

I would expect to see the provision about allowing players to be immediately eligible after a coaching change to be approved, as well as limiting schools’ ability to block transfers to other schools. I wouldn’t expect to see the group approve a plan to make all transfers eligible immediately, as reviews of that idea are still mixed at best.

It will be interesting to see what this group comes up with in a couple months.