Transferring in college sports has officially changed in a major way.
According to Nicole Auerbach, the NCAA has approved a rule to allow players to transfer once with immediate eligibility. Previously, athletes had to sit out for a year when transferring unless they could get a waiver. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
The new NCAA transfer legislation is officially official. pic.twitter.com/lxkLBO2SCE
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) April 28, 2021
Not only did the rule pass, but it’s also being implemented immediately. That means any player who notifies their school of a transfer decision by July 1 can play this upcoming season.
All current athletes who want to use the new transfer rule and be immediately eligible for the 2021-22 academic year will have until July 1, 2021 to notify their current school that they’ll be transferring.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) April 28, 2021
In non-pandemic years, the notification deadlines: pic.twitter.com/TlPbvZ0uXa
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) April 28, 2021
Well, there it is, folks. We all knew the transfer rules were going to change, and it’s now a done deal. Players can transfer with immediate eligibility once during their careers.
How will this all work out in the end? I have no idea, but we’re not turning back at this point. The ship has left the harbor when it comes to transferring.
Current athletes who have already transferred in their careers do not qualify under the new rule – they cannot transfer again & be immediately eligible w/o a waiver. NCAA will continue using a waiver system, but the waiver criteria is expected to be more stringent, sources say.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) April 14, 2021
The greatest fear is that this could lead to free agency in college sports. In reality, we’ve kind of already had that for star athletes.
If you’re an absolute stud on the football field, your program will find a way to get you eligible. We’ve seen it happen time and time again.
Even Tate Martell got immediate eligibility at Miami!
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Let us know in the comments what you think of the decision. It’s best for the players, but I hope like hell this doesn’t lead to mass chaos.