NCAA Transfer Rule Changes

[Auburn Kev 1,653]

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Council adjusts transfer waiver guidelines, addresses other topics

Guidelines clarify the process for members, prompt involvement from athletics directors

June 26, 2019 11:26amMichelle Brutlag Hosick

The Division I Council received updates about several ongoing topics and made several decisions at a meeting this week in Indianapolis that illustrated the depth of their responsibilities for running Division I on a day-to-day basis. Among their actions were clarifications of transfer waiver guidelines to help members understand what specific information to submit with waiver requests. No transfer rules changed.

Members participated in a workshop conducted by the NCAA Sport Science Institute that was designed to help campuses develop plans to promote and support student-athlete mental health issues. The council also heard updates from groups examining sports wagering issues, federal and state legislation related to college sports, and the coach credentialing pilot in Division I men’s and women’s basketball.

Council members received updates about several suggested changes to academic integrity rules and policies and agreed to urge conferences to provide feedback to the Division I Presidential Forum on those matters by July 1. They discussed athletics director accountability and received a preview of attestation and certification of compliance modules for presidents, chancellors and directors of athletics.

They met with representatives from the U.S. Olympic Committee and discussed the work of the USOC Collegiate Advisory Council, including how the NCAA could work with USOC to better support the nation’s most elite athletes training for international competition.

The group also discussed transfer regulations, adopting noncontroversial legislation to specify that a student-athlete would be subject to transfer rules after he or she enrolls in classes and attends the first day of class and then transfers to another school. Previously, students only had to enroll and be present on the first day of class to be subject to transfer status to attend a different school. The change brings the transfer trigger in line with the requirement for full-time enrollment.

Also in the transfer space, the group adjusted four of the 13 guidelines national office staff usewhen making an initial determination in transfer residence requirement waiver cases. The changes were acknowledged as minor adjustments to the waiver process intended to clarify the requirements, prompt more involvement from athletics directors and give guidance to members as they submit waivers.

When a school requests a waiver because it asserts a student-athlete no longer has the opportunity to participate at his or her previous school, the new school must provide proof that the student-athlete is in good academic standing and meeting progress-toward-degree requirements at the new school and a statement from the previous school’s athletics director indicating whether the student could return to the team; whether the student was dismissed from the team and the date of dismissal; whether the student was in good academic standing at the time of departure; and the reasons the student gave the previous school for the transfer.

Previously in such cases, the new school had to provide confirmation the student couldn’t return to the team for reasons outside his or her control; a statement from an academic authority indicating the student-athlete was in good academic standing and met progress-toward-degree requirements; and a statement from the previous school detailing its position on the request.

In cases in which the student-athlete transferred because he or she is the victim of egregious behavior directly impacting his or her health, safety or well-being, the new school must continue to provide objective documentation of the behavior and how it impacts the health, safety or well-being of the student-athlete. In addition, the new school also must now provide a statement from the previous school’s athletics director explaining why the student-athlete indicated he or she is transferring and proof that the student-athlete is in good academic standing and meeting progress-toward-degree standards at the new school.

Previously in cases alleging egregious behavior, the new school had to provide objective documentation of the behavior and the previous school’s position on the waiver request.

In cases where a student-athlete transfers because of the recent injury or illness of an immediate family member, the new school must provide contemporaneous medical documentation from the treating physician showing how the family member is debilitated; an explanation of the student-athlete’s role in providing care; confirmation from both the athletics director and faculty athletics representative that the student-athlete will be allowed to depart the team to provide care; a statement from the previous school’s athletics director explaining why the student-athlete said he or she was transferring; and proof that the student-athlete is in good academic standing and meeting progress-toward degree at the new school. The transfer must occur within or immediately after the academic year after learning of the injury or illness, and the guideline requires the new school be within 100 miles of the immediate family member.

Previously in such cases, the new school had to provide written documentation from the family member’s treating professional; contemporaneous medical documentation showing how the family member was debilitated; an explanation of the student-athlete’s need to transfer; and confirmation from the athletics director and faculty athletics representative that the student-athlete would be allowed to depart the team in order to provide care for the family member.

Additionally, the council approved new guidelines for staff to follow when considering transfer waivers in cases where a student-athlete transfers to be closer to their home or support system because of their own injury or illness.

In those cases, the school must provide contemporaneous medical documentation from the student-athlete’s treating professional showing the student-athlete is debilitated and was receiving treatment before the transfer; an explanation of the student-athlete’s need to transfer and treatment plan; and a statement from the previous school’s athletics director explaining why the student-athlete indicated he or she was transferring. The student also must be in good academic standing and meeting progress-toward-degree requirements at the new school. The transfer must occur in the academic year after diagnosis, and the new school must be within 100 miles of the student-athlete’s family or support system.

Previously, staff did not have specific guidelines in such cases, but a rise in waiver requests because of a student-athlete’s own injury or illness, particularly mental health issues, prompted the membership to create the guidelines approved by the council.

Finally, the council introduced into the 2019-20 legislative cycle several proposals that will be considered over the academic year:

• Two proposals that would add new sports to the emerging sports for women list and create their structures: women’s wrestling and acrobatics and tumbling.
• A proposal that would adjust multiple-team event legislation in men’s and women’s basketball. Current rules allow participation in 27 contests plus one multiple-team event (not to exceed four contests) or 29 contests without a multiple team event. The proposed changes would allow 28 contests plus one multiteam event (not to exceed three contests), 29 contests plus one multiteam event (not to exceed two contests) or 29 contests (without a multiteam event).
• A proposal to increase minimum core financial penalty for one or more Level I or Level II violations from $5,000 to $25,000. 
• A proposal that would require vacation of records as a core penalty when a student-athlete competes while ineligible in cases involving one or more Level I or Level II violations. 

 

 

[ellitor 33,089]

A good bit of that article could have been worded so much better. A lot of that was Greek to me.

[Auburn Kev 1,653]

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NCAA tightens transfer guidelines, limits players gaining immediate eligibility

 

Dan Wolken, USA TODAYPublished 9:44 a.m. ET June 26, 2019 | Updated 2:03 p.m. ET June 26, 2019

 

The NCAA Division I council approved a package of updated guidelines Wednesday that could make it more difficult for college football and basketball players who transfer to receive immediate eligibility via waivers.

Though the NCAA is characterizing the changes as minor clarifications to guidelines that were already in place, they do appear to specify and narrow the circumstances in which athletes should be given waivers, according to a document outlining the updated language obtained by USA TODAY Sports. The new language also goes into more specific detail about the documentation required for a waiver, which can be extensive in cases where an athlete is seeking immediate eligibility on the grounds of an injury or illness to themselves or an immediate family member.

The new guidelines are not rules but essentially a set of directions for the NCAA staff that makes initial waiver decisions, which can then be appealed to the Committee on Legislative Relief. They are thought to be in response to a significant increase in the number of waiver requests being submitted to the NCAA this summer and growing frustration among some schools and fans about decisions that appear to be inconsistent in cases that seem to be similar.

In 2018, the NCAA adopted a new standard that would allow waivers to be granted on a case-by-case basis by the committee if the athlete could demonstrate “documented mitigating circumstances outside of the student-athlete’s control and directly impacts the health, safety or well-being of the student-athlete.” 

That change helped clear several high-profile football players to play immediately last season including quarterback Shea Patterson, who transferred to Michigan in the wake of the NCAA issuing significant penalties at Ole Miss. 

The updated language of that same guideline is less broad, requiring “documented extenuating, extraordinary and mitigating circumstances outside of the student-athlete’s control that directly impacts the health, safety or well-being of the student-athlete.” 

The addition of those two words — extenuating and extraordinary — as well as other language throughout the proposal, appears to send the message that the NCAA wants to tighten up on the requirements for waivers. 

“Across the board, the proposed new guidelines raise the bar for schools seeking a waiver on behalf of a student-athlete,” said attorney Tom Mars, who has represented a number of high-profile athletes in waiver cases over the last year. “Given the dramatic increase in the number of waivers being sought for the 2019-20 season, raising the bar strikes me as a sensible short-term reaction by the Legislative Council.”

Among the other key changes:

In cases where an athlete was run off by a coach or essentially had their scholarship pulled for non-disciplinary reasons, the NCAA will require a written statement from the athletics director at the previous school stating whether the athlete would not have had an opportunity to return to the team and why the athlete is transferring. The committee is being instructed to deny cases where the athlete can’t document that they’ve been run off. That marks a change from prior protocol, where a key determining factor in "run off" situations was whether the previous school objected to the waiver request. 

The previous guidelines allowed waivers to be granted for “egregious behavior by a staff member or student at the previous institution” as long as the previous school did not oppose the waiver, giving the committee a fairly broad window to view those claims. The updated version says waivers should be granted for documented cases where the athlete was a victim of “physical assault or abuse, sexually inappropriate behavior, racial abuse, religious discrimination, questioning of sexuality by a staff member or student at the previous institution” though the definition isn’t limited to those areas. 

In cases where athletes transfer within 100-mile radius of their to home due to injury or illness to an immediate family member or because of a pregnancy, the NCAA’s proposal requires more paperwork from both schools, including “a treatment plan detailing the student-athlete’s caregiving responsibilities.”

Though it’s unclear whether these guidelines will discourage schools from attempting to obtain waivers, they appear to be a patchwork attempt at addressing the narrative that the NCAA is moving toward free agency in the transfer market. These waivers, along with the introduction last fall of the so-called “transfer portal” that makes it easier for athletes to initiate the transfer process, have put the entire issue at the forefront of debate within the NCAA.

The numbers don't necessarily indicate that much has changed in terms of how the waivers are adjudicated. Last month, the Associated Press reported that the committee for legislative relief had approved 68% of waiver requests for football, which was actually a two-percentage point decrease compared to the previous four years. Overall requests across all sports increased to more than 250 in 2018-19 from more than 150 the previous year, according to AP.

A softening of the rules, however, has encouraged some athletes with shaky waiver cases to test the system and raised concerns about consistency. Because of privacy laws, the details and nuances from case to case aren't made public, fueling even more criticism.

While many athletes such as high-profile quarterbacks Justin Fields (Georgia to Ohio State) and Tate Martell (Ohio State to Miami) have been granted waivers for reasons that publicly appear to be ambiguous,  fans have questioned why tight end Luke Ford (Georgia to Illinois) and offensive lineman Brock Hoffman (Coastal Carolina to Virginia Tech), both of whom cited ill family members in their waivers, were denied. 

 

[keesler 5,924]

 

1 hour ago, Auburn Kev said:

While many athletes such as high-profile quarterbacks Justin Fields (Georgia to Ohio State) and Tate Martell (Ohio State to Miami) have been granted waivers for reasons that publicly appear to be ambiguous,  fans have questioned why tight end Luke Ford (Georgia to Illinois) and offensive lineman Brock Hoffman (Coastal Carolina to Virginia Tech), both of whom cited ill family members in their waivers, were denied. 

 

The NCAA should be embarrassed when they let mess like that happen.

[DAG 33,979]

Just now, keesler said:

 

The NCAA should be embarrassed when they let mess like that happen.

Pure inconsistency from these goofballs, as expected.

[oracle79 3,569]

17 hours ago, keesler said:

 

The NCAA should be embarrassed when they let mess like that happen.

High powered lawyers make all the difference if there is any ambiguity.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

I didn't understand 95% or more of it.

[gr82be 14,423]

6 minutes ago, auburn4ever said:

I didn't understand 95% or more of it.

You're not alone. They probably didn't intend for anyone to. I got lost in it myself. 

[bigbird 60,509]

50 minutes ago, auburn4ever said:

I didn't understand 95% or more of it.

 

[alexava 6,973]

Now we need a 5-6 sentence translation. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

I was cool with the FA-esque style, I was just pissed they didn’t let Ford go. No comprehensible reason. McCoy and that other west coast dude ruined it for everyone 

[alexava 6,973]

Ford?

[kevon67 2,368]

On 6/28/2019 at 7:52 PM, bigbird said:

 

Lmao......you've been giving auburn4ever the buisness since the Auburn Eagle days........no one more deserving of the buisness might I add😂

[bigbird 60,509]

17 minutes ago, kevon67 said:

Lmao......you've been giving auburn4ever the buisness since the Auburn Eagle days........no one more deserving of the buisness might I add😂

He and I have had many conversations over the years. He is a true Auburn fan and man.  He has never been cross or ever said a single Ill word towards anyone...No matter how much we give him.

I give him a hard time every chance I get but will stand up/defend him intensely

[ellitor 33,089]

1 hour ago, alexava said:

Ford?

Luke Ford who transferred home to Illinois from UGA.

[AUApostle 7,651]

On 7/3/2019 at 1:22 PM, bigbird said:

He and I have had many conversations over the years. He is a true Auburn fan and man.  He has never been cross or ever said a single Ill word towards anyone...No matter how much we give him.

I give him a hard time every chance I get but will stand up/defend him intensely

Because of his “condition”.

[bigbird 60,509]

5 hours ago, AUDevil said:

Because of his “condition”.

Because he's a good guy

[ellitor 33,089]

7 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Because he's a good guy

Yep! Agree with him or not his heart is always in the right place. All he’s ever wanted is what’s best for Auburn.

[bigbird 60,509]

14 minutes ago, ellitor said:

Yep! Agree with him or not his heart is always in the right place. All he’s ever wanted is what’s best for Auburn.

...And orange facemask

[augolf1716 21,109]

6 hours ago, bigbird said:

Because he's a good guy

so sweet I may cry

[bigbird 60,509]

47 minutes ago, augolf1716 said:

so sweet I may cry

Try more fiber or prunes

[augolf1716 21,109]

2 hours ago, bigbird said:

Try more fiber or prunes

I'm at the max now.........very thoughtful of you to recommend but you left out softener