Reports: Big Ten proposes NCAA rule change allowing all student-athletes 1-time transfer without sitting out
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We could soon be entering a world where transfer waivers are no longer necessary.
That’s because the Big Ten has proposed a change to the NCAA’s transfer rules which would student-athletes in all sports the ability to transfer one time without having to sit out a season or apply for a waiver to gain immediate eligibility at their next school. This news was first reported by Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports and later reported by Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.
It should be noted that this proposal will still have to be voted on before it becomes an official NCAA rule.
According to Dodd, the Big Ten proposed this rule change last year but the NCAA pushed the proposal to the 2019-20 legislative calendar.
The way the current NCAA transfer rules are laid out, all non-graduates must sit out a full season before being able to compete at their new school — unless a waiver is granted by the NCAA for immediate eligibility. The waiver process is kept out of the public eye and reasons for approval or denial are not given to either the university or the player transferring. The timeline for decisions is also unclear and appear to be done on a case-by-case basis.
Should this proposal become a rule, it would likely make the waiver process obsolete. It should be noted that for most college sports, transfers are not required to sit out of competition for a season, only in the major revenue-producing college sports.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
