NCAA council examining rule changes tied to student-athlete transfers

The NCAA could soon be making some changes to regulations regarding student-athletes seeking transfers.

According to NCAA associate director of public and media relations Michelle Brutlag Hosick, the Division I Council Transfer Working Group is seeking feedback on a number of issues in order to "create the best outcomes for both student-athletes and schools involved in the transfer process."

These issues - which were listed by Hosick and set forth during a group meeting in Indianapolis on June 25 and 26 - include:

• Permission to contact, including the tie with a college athlete's athletics scholarship
• Postgraduate eligibility
• Ethical recruiting
• Uniformity of rules/academic impact of transfer

Justin Sell, South Dakota State athletic director and Working Group chair, believes the council has made significant progress toward resolving these issues and that new standards could be put in place as soon as this fall.

“I am thrilled with the great progress made this week, and I’m confident we can move forward with some initial concepts for consideration in this year’s legislative cycle,” Sell said. “We are working toward academics-based, data-driven decisions that benefit student-athletes, teams, and schools.”

Sell also claimed the group will carefully consider academic ties in the transfer process.

If the proposal is accepted, one of the primary areas affected would be the student-athlete's need for an official program release in order to receive an athletic scholarship at their next university. The existing rule states that if an athlete does not receive a full release, he or she can still transfer, but will be ineligible for athletic scholarships.