The NCAA Division I Council has approved a groundbreaking measure that will allow student-athletes in all sports a one time opportunity to transfer without sitting out a year. The vote was unanimous and will allow student-athletes to transfer immediately.
The legislation has been debated for a couple of years and was suppose to be approved during a meeting of the Division I Council in January. But in typical NCAA fashion they deferred the vote until now.
DI Council adopts new transfer legislation: https://t.co/NRnieKGrsD pic.twitter.com/U7Ad2fTlxF
— NCAA News (@NCAA_PR) April 15, 2021
The rule will be ratified into law on April 28. This will be unprecedented and will allow athletes from major sports like football, and men’s and women’s basketball to enjoy the same transfer rules that Olympic sports have enjoyed since those transfer rules were first approved.
The ruling itself will certainly have an impact on student-athletes that are currently in the transfer portal. In fact according to VerbalCommits.com there are more than 1,300 men’s Division I basketball players in the transfer portal alone.
The portal has become a cesspool year of sorts with student-athletes transferring at will. But I’m not mad at any of them as I don’t know what each individual player had to deal with at their previous school.
The Council said it would take two votes, one on the rule itself and then a second vote as to the process by which they will implement the rule. Student-athletes in fall and winter need to announce their transfer by May 1, and student-athletes for spring would need to do so by July 1.
The other major piece of legislation the NCAA is dealing with which impacts student-athletes is (NLI) Name, Likeness and Image.
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This particular legislation would allow student-athletes to profit of their brands — outside of their scholarships agreement with the university. That legislation is still under development with the Division I Council and of course there does not appear to be a timetable for approval.
This bill is just the latest piece of proposed legislation looking to end amateurism in all NCAA athletics. In fact last year, a group of senators led by Corey Booker (D-NJ), announced that they would move forward with their proposal of a “College Athletes Bill Of Rights.” That would grant NCAA athletes certain rights as it relates to monetary compensation, health, and eligibility.
While several states have been able to pass their own NIL legislation, the NCAA as a governing body has been its usual slow snail-like self when it pertains to anything that could help or benefit the Black athlete. They have no desire to create their own legislation on this matter which is why they’re dragging their collective feet in the process.
The NAIA already supports an NLI framework for it’s student-athletes.
