Much ado about transfers

The NCAA’s new transfer rule is a change Nick Saban has time for.

The Division I Council adopted a proposal this week that creates a new “notification-of-transfer” model. This new system allows a student to inform his or her current school of a desire to transfer, then requires that school to enter the student’s name into a national transfer database within two business days. Once the student-athlete’s name is in the database, other coaches are free to contact that individual.

“The membership showed today that it supports this significant change in transfer rules,” said Justin Sell, chair of the Division I Transfer Working Group and athletics director at South Dakota State. “I’m proud of the effort the Transfer Working Group put forth to make this happen for student-athletes, coaches and schools.”

The previous transfer rule, which required student-athletes to get permission from their current school to contact another school before they can receive a scholarship after transfer, was intended to discourage coaches from recruiting student-athletes from other Division I schools. The rule change ends the controversial practice in which some coaches or administrators would prevent students from having contact with specific schools. Conferences, however, still can make rules that are more restrictive than the national rule.  [Emphasis added.]

There’s some mealy-mouthed stuff that follows in the release promising that the NCAA’s work is not done, but in the end, all this boils down to is what I posted the other day.

“Declaring a victory is silly,” said Tim Nevius, a New York-based attorney who used to work at the NCAA. “We used to deny people the ability to contact another school and get financial aid. But, by the way, we still prevent them from playing.”

Game changing it ain’t.