The NCAA announced a new change to rules for second-time transfers on Thursday, indicating that the council had voted unanimously to update guidelines for the “waiver process for undergraduate student-athletes who are transferring for a second time.”

It added that each waiver request would be considered on a case-by-case basis, but that student-athletes must meet one or more of the following criteria to be eligible to compete immediately:

  • A demonstrated physical injury or illness or mental health condition that necessitated the student’s transfer (supporting documentation, care plans and proximity of the student’s support system will be considered), or
  • Exigent circumstances that clearly necessitate a student-athlete’s immediate departure from the previous school (e.g., physical assault or abuse, sexual assault) unrelated to the student-athlete’s athletics participation.

Lack of playing time and position presence will not be considered to grant waiver requests. This move comes as somewhat of an unsurprising one as several have voiced concern with thew transfer portal since it initially opened in regard to players transferring multiple times for a host of reasons.