NCAA Updates Memo Clarifying Rules for Multi-Time Transfers
With college basketball’s transfer portal opening next week, the NCAA has provided clarification on the eligibility of transfers who decide to enter the portal this spring.
In a memorandum acquired by On3 on Wednesday, the NCAA updated its previously distributed document from December, reinforcing its stance that multi-time transfers who enter the portal this year will be eligible to play at a different school during the 2024-25 season without needing to obtain a waiver.
As of April 2021, the NCAA rules generally permitted underclassmen to transfer once without the obligation of a one-year waiting period. However, if an undergraduate wished to transfer again, they would have needed to submit a waiver to the NCAA to compete immediately. Failure to obtain such a waiver would result in the athlete being required to sit out for a year at the new school.
Now, the NCAA’s latest guidance opens the door for undergraduate athletes who have transferred more than once to be immediately eligible at their new institution this upcoming season.
Ohio, et al. v. NCAA
The NCAA’s guidelines are the result of the latest actions in a lawsuit (Ohio, et al. v. NCAA) challenging the its transfer eligibility rules. The lawsuit was filed by seven state attorney generals on December 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.
The complaints argued that the NCAA transfer rules breached U.S. antitrust laws by oftentimes requiring the athletes to undergo a one-year waiting period after transferring before being able to compete in games for their new school.
On December 13, a federal judge in West Virginia issued a temporary halt on the NCAA bylaw that requires transferring college athletes to undergo a one-year waiting period before participating in games. The court’s ruling temporarily prevented the NCAA from enforcing its multi-year transfer restriction for 14 days. However, on December 15, an agreement was reached between the seven AGs and the NCAA to convert the 14-day temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction.
NCAA Enjoined From Enforcing Bylaws 14.5.5.1 and 12.11.4.2
In accordance with the preliminary injunction, the NCAA’s new guidance specifically prevents the enforcement of bylaws 14.5.5.1 and 12.11.4.2.
According to Bylaw 14.5.5.1, “A transfer student from a four-year institution shall not be eligible for intercollegiate competition until the student has fulfilled an academic year of residence (see Bylaw 14.02.10) at the certifying institution unless the student qualifies for one of the transfer exceptions set forth in Bylaws 14.5.5.1.1, 14.5.5.1.2 or 14.5.5.1.3.”
However, as mentioned earlier, the NCAA’s adoption of the one-time transfer rule in 2021 essentially overrides certain aspects of the previous transfer regulations. Now, college athletes who are transferring for the first time as undergraduates are generally eligible to compete immediately, regardless of whether they satisfy the traditional residence requirement. Additionally, under the preliminary injunction, athletes are allowed to participate immediately at a new institution even after more than one transfer.
Furthermore, Bylaw 12.11.4.2 (i.e. the “Rule of Restitution”) outlines the authority of the NCAA to take retroactive actions against schools if a college athlete who was ineligible under NCAA rules was allowed to compete due to a court order, which is later overturned or determined to be unjustified. These actions include returning awards, vacating individual and team records, declaring the institution ineligible for certain championships and postseason events, forfeiting games, and imposing financial penalties. As a result of the preliminary injunction and the NCAA’s guidelines, institutions are no longer under the threat of retroactive punishment for violating the applicable NCAA eligibility rules.
