Free Transfer Rules Essay

Recently, many rules governing NCAA member institutions and athletes have changed dramatically, some for the better but many for the worse. Several years ago, the NCAA created the “Transfer Portal”, a database to help student athletes be more easily found by coaches and in turn, have more success in transferring to a new institution that matches their academic and athletic goals. As a result, the NCAA felt it could benefit athletes to create a one-time free transfer rule, that “… allows athletes to transfer to a different school one time during their career and play immediately without getting permission from their coach or school. Previously, athletes had to get permission from their current school and then sit out a year as a penalty for

While both rules, but particularly NIL, are fantastic harmless ideas and something all student athletes deserve, they open the door for the NCAA and its rules to be severely exploited. In fact, it already has as recruiting athletes in several sports has essentially become the contest of who can pay the most money. Due to the ability of athletes being immediately eligible in the season following their transfer, coaches have begun tempting players by promising specified dollar amounts of NIL deals. For example, in college football the director of the senior bowl heard “some skill-position players in the transfer portal are being offered $5 million or more” (Florio, 2022). As a player, why not leave a school to make more money when there are no consequences of transferring? While this includes players who are and are not already in the transfer portal, it makes transferring sound attractive and therefore, makes an athlete more likely to transfer rather than staying at one four-year institution. Non-revenue generating sports experienced the same dramatic increase in transfers before graduation and the portal for all sports has more athletes than spots available to continue playing. More college athletes are transferring than ever since the implementation of the one-time free transfer

While in some scenarios, a free transfer without eligibility consequences is rightly deserved and helpful to athletes, it should not be the default rule governing all athletes who decide to transfer. The NCAA simply made it too easy to transfer and the rule encourages kids to leave schools in search of greener grass or avoid adversity. The rule takes away from the necessity of picking the right school and making sure that it is the best place for your future. I understand the appeal of transferring and I have firsthand experience as a transfer myself. Everyone hears the stories about those who transfer, and it works out perfectly in terms of more playing time, scholarship money, or better location. As a result, many athletes and their parents have a false sense of reality when it comes to transferring. However, that perfect scenario that people expect before entering the portal rarely happens as “less than half (49%) of athletes that entered the transfer portal from 2020-21 found a new NCAA school” (Brockway,