NCAA on verge of transfer rule change

https://apnews.com/article/hockey-football-basketball-college-sports-39f96def99682694be46d62b4fd53948



The NCAA is expected to make a rule official shortly which will allow students to transfer once during their college eligibility without having to sit out a year. This will have immediate impacts to several BYU players:

- DB Jakob Robinson, transfer from Utah State should be eligible for 2021-22 without having to sit

- DB Kaleb Hayes, transfer from Oregon state should be eligible for 2021-22 without having to sit

- WR Puka Nacua, transfer from Washington should be eligible for 2021-22 without having to sit

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And it is official.

“Allowing student-athletes a one-time opportunity to transfer and compete immediately provides a uniform, equitable and understandable approach that benefits all student-athletes,” said Council vice chair Jon Steinbrecher, who chairs the Working Group on Transfers and is commissioner of the Mid-American Conference. “The decision is consistent with Division I’s goal of modernizing its rules to prioritize student-athlete opportunity and choice.”

So, does "transfer and compete immediately" mean exactly that?



At the end of the 2021 regular CFB season, can a top CB from West Virginia transfer to Alabama for classes starting January 2022, and then play in the CFB playoff for the Crimson Tide in the same season (albeit the postseason) they played for the Mountaineers?



That would be weird if it's really the case.

snoscythe wrote:

So, does "transfer and compete immediately" mean exactly that?



At the end of the 2021 regular CFB season, can a top CB from West Virginia transfer to Alabama for classes starting January 2022, and then play in the CFB playoff for the Crimson Tide in the same season (albeit the postseason) they played for the Mountaineers?



That would be weird if it's really the case.

No there is a deadline for the transfers to occur. From the article:

"Members also adopted deadlines for student-athletes to provide written notification of transfer if they want to compete immediately. The deadlines will be May 1 for fall and winter sport student-athletes and July 1 for spring sport student-athletes, but the Council also granted a blanket waiver for this year only that sets the date for all student-athletes as July 1. Members noted the May 1 deadline was just a month away, and the waiver would provide students additional time they might need to decide.



The dates were selected based on a desire to balance providing flexibility for student-athletes to make informed transfer decisions with protecting the interests of students who don’t transfer but will be impacted by those who do.



Some exceptions to the deadlines would apply in cases of a head coaching change or canceled athletics scholarship before July 1."