NCAA delays one-time waiver transfer vote to January

A vote on whether to grant student-athletes one-time waivers that would no longer require them to sit out an entire season after transferring will now be held in 2021.

“The issue will be developed into a legislative concept (not a change to waiver guidelines), and the council committed to voting on that concept by January 2021," Michelle Hosick, the NCAA's associate director of communications, told Forbes' Adam Zagoria via email.

There was a possibility the NCAA could have adopted the one-time transfer waiver in May and implemented it for the 2020-21 campaign. But Thursday's announcement comes three weeks after the NCAA Board of Governors recommended a delay.

Football, baseball, men's ice hockey, and men's and women's basketball would be affected by the change. There are approximately 950 student-athletes currently listed in the transfer portal, according to Zagoria.

With college basketball's regular season traditionally running from November to March, it's unclear if players who transfer during the current offseason would become immediately eligible should a mid-season vote pass.

"It depends on how the legislation is worded," Hosick stated.