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NCAA to seek feedback on transfer eligibility exceptions

NCAA tournament coronavirus

during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 16, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Christian Petersen

A major point of conversation in collegiate athletics in recent years has been the eligibility of transfers, with the majority having to sit out a year at their new schools unless they were a graduate student or their prior school was subject to a postseason ban.

The NCAA has been considering the possibility of granting all transfers immediate eligibility, and on Tuesday the Division I Transfer Working Group announced that it is seeking feedback on some exceptions.

One of the exceptions has to deal with an athlete’s work in the classroom, as those who perform well academically (earning A’s and B’s according to the NCAA) would be granted immediate eligibility after transferring.

The other would allow athletes who have signed a National Letter of Intent to move on if the head coach they committed to either accepts another job or is relieved of their duties at the school the athlete signed with. In the case of this exception the NCAA has referred it to the Collegiate Commissioners Association, which manages the NLI.

“Membership input is vital in this process as we try to develop the best recommendation possible,” South Dakota State athletic director and working group chair Justin Sell said via the release. “We will refine the concepts based on the feedback we receive, and we will ultimately make our decisions based on our values and goals as an organization and the guideposts set for us last year by the Division I Board of Directors.”

According to the release, the hope is that the Division I Transfer Working Group will have a final recommendation to make regarding possible rules changes by the end of 2018.