It's official: NCAA agrees to end transfer rules permanently

[Mccage]

Reading a lot of comments reminded of where I was in my life about 25 years ago. I lived, ate, and slept sports (especially UT sports). Even to the detriment of those I love the most. Such a self absorbed place to be…and I am massively ashamed of it now. After a life altering change in my heart/mind I’ve since come to realize the utter insignificance of sports. I admit I still love it. Enjoy it. Read about it and watch it daily. BUT…now given the opportunity I would 100 times more rather spend the day with my children/grandchildren than be consumed by sports and its allure to feel “fake” emotions and get gut wrenchingly upset over NIL/transfers etc. I know a lot of folks don’t get this…or even care how I feel. But let me encourage you to enjoy sports and its proclivities and not be moved to a stiff necked posture that can literally destroy your peace. And possibly to those you cherish the most. JMO

Losing to Bama 15 times in a row will do that to you

 

[RDU VOL#14]

The pendulum swung from the NCAA having an illegal spurts model and exploiting athletes to them being unable to keep doing it. That is a very good thing

I agree, but I don’t think I’m entirely off base like you said I was.

 

[SpaceCoastVol]

You're going to see contracts with players soon.

College football is dying right before our eyes

 

[VolFreakJosh]

College football is dying right before our eyes

It’s not dying.

Evolving into the NFL is more like it.

 

[rdk4121]

Well given there's going to be actual contracts involved with schools now as well, can there be some multi year deals where you can't transfer due to that? That's not the NCAA at that point. Who knows, it's just turned into truly NFL farm league now.

 

[Batman1948]

And so the trash can burns.

No commitment from coaches, no commitment from players, no commitment from anyone but fans, who will be expected to show unwavering commitment no matter how many times they're pissed on.

Fans are free to do whatever they please. No one is holding a gun to their head to attend events

 

[backdoorcutvol]

I guess all this is fine and dandy If you want to get used to a new roster every year.

 

[turbovol]

So with Tuition, Fees, Housing and books. The athlete is saving around $23,000/year by playing football. Not too shabby.......

It's a lot more than $23K. A free college education--plus the many other bennies that student-athletes receive--is worth upwards of $250K over four years. Yet were supposed to believe that the players are all SOOOOO put-upon and exploited. The narrative is nonsense and has been pushed by years by the usual activists who aren't too interested in the free education benefit, significant as it is---but who've been VERY keen to squeeze some serious cash out of the system.

 

[turbovol]

The pendulum swung from the NCAA having an illegal spurts model and exploiting athletes to them being unable to keep doing it. That is a very good thing

I'm not sure how the NCAA was "exploiting" the athletes. They're student. The NCAA comprises member institutions. Some seem to think the NCAA is a bunch of fat cats smoking cigars while getting rich on college football. That is nonsense. Fact is, nobody is getting rich off of college football---except a few head coaches and a few network executives who would be wealthy with or without college football.

We're told now that the NCAA model has violated anti-trust laws, we had a Supreme Claim no other business could get away with the same model. The anti-trust argument is too complex for me--but it's certainly true that college football is in NO WAY a conventional business. And it's also true that most D1 athletic departments lose money--because they invest their FB revenue in lots of other sports. Nothing demonstrates the absurdity of all this than Dartmouth basketball players suing to form a union. Dartmouth loses money on athletics--and only supports athletics as a service and benefit to the student athletes. Nobody is clamoring to watch Dartmouth basketball or anything else, for that matter. So the players demanding to form a union strike me as ungrateful dopes.

The SEC is on the other end of the spectrum. Fans take the sports and the games--as someone else suggested here--FAR too seriously. The college part has been bulldozed over by the crazy commercialism of FB and BB. When you've got college students transferring every year for money, you've jumped the shark. I had to laugh at SEC commissioner Sankey saying the other day that he would welcome congressional action on some of these issues. It's PRECISELY because Sankey and a few other major-conference commissioners have become massive money-grubbers that we've got this mess. I mostly follow non-revenue sports now---far less crass and more representative of the real spirit of college athletics.

 

[volfan102455]

Not sure of all the effects on football but it’s not a good thing for other sports besides football and maybe men’s BB. I see them surviving at the cost of other sports. The money will go predominantly to them and some sports will be scaled back or cut entirely.

Agree - other sports will be cut. Additionally, players on a team will constantly change. We will not see players waiting their turn with many teams being one injury away from seeing their hoped-for championship season tank. And why should a player wait their turn when someone else can transfer in and take the spot they waited for?

Now if there are contracts that have a cost associated with breaking the contract, like there is with coaches, maybe that will be incentive for players to stay put - but without that, it is going to be massive exits every year - and forget about that up-and-coming high school player who thinks they can be the next big thing at a school of their choice - a more experienced player may transfer in and block them.

 

[volfan102455]

It's a lot more than $23K. A free college education--plus the many other bennies that student-athletes receive--is worth upwards of $250K over four years. Yet were supposed to believe that the players are all SOOOOO put-upon and exploited. The narrative is nonsense and has been pushed by years by the usual activists who aren't too interested in the free education benefit, significant as it is---but who've been VERY keen to squeeze some serious cash out of the system.

Actually, if you look at the financial report out for UT from circa 2023 and take the dollars spent directly on the athletes, divide that by the number of athletes, the total spend per athlete was circa $63K and that doesn't include the 'free advertisement and media coverage' a player gets by playing for a school like Tennessee. That does total up to circa $250K like you said - but once again that doesn't include the 'free promotion and media coverage' a top player receives courtesy of their connection with the school.

 

[tennrich1]

Losing to Bama 15 times in a row will do that to you

Good point…thankfully we were handling Bama well during my transition years.

 

[brockytop]

If I were a walk-on I’d soak up the playbook and then shop myself for tran$fer during the season to see what kind of money I can get for my “expertise”.

 

[DonDiego]

Exactly. Equity for everyone.

No, that's not equity. Steve Spurrier quit football with no consequences, I suppose. So can any player quit football with no consequences. On the other hand, had Spurrier 'transferred' to another program, he would have likely had a hefty buyout, which would have factored into his decision. Players can transfer with no buyout. You may be okay with it, but it definitely isn't 'equity'.

 

[Eastknox865]

Maybe that should change too. Most coaches have contracts with terms, right? Maybe both schools and coaches should be required to fulfill contract terms. No more buyouts, etc. Both agree to 5 years... it's FIVE years. Then the athletes will have security that the coach will be there until the contract is fulfilled at minimum.

That will never happen and if it was going to it would happened years ago

 

[Panthro]

Transfer fees from program to program could help curb this a little.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

That is coming. Can't wait until a star player decides to move to a different team in the middle of the season.

Are ALL academic progress requirements gone? Leaving in the middle of a term should result in a bunch of INCOMPLETES On the transcript. You can only be so creative with COLLEGE athletes grade manipulation.

 

[Chickenfarmer]

This game is still played by student athletes, supposedly. We still call them that. A no rules, ungoverned NIL and Portal is chaos. As a college student, non athlete, I cannot transfer to another college or university and graduate without completing a minimum 60 hours college credit at that institution. At least that’s how it used to be. I dropped out of UT lacking 35 hours to graduate. Life takes us down different roads and I ended up working in Michigan. I looked into enrolling at another university, Michigan State, I had to complete 60 Undergraduate hours there to be eligible for a degree. Does this new ruling mean I can go to Walter’s State for two years, ETSU for three semesters then transfer to Harvard for one semester and hang an Ivy League diploma on my wall? I wouldn’t really desire that scenario given the liberal state of Ivy League schools today.

I guess there is no such thing as Order in 2024. At some point in life, commitment is required. Lack of commitment equals broken vows, fatherless children and chaos all around. Wait a minute, I guess we are already there. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, but you still have to cut it.

 

[Chickenfarmer]

I guess all this is fine and dandy If you want to get used to a new roster every year.

Look at our upcoming basketball roster for men and women. A lot of new faces. I have a friend that is a small, private college basketball coach. He says that high school kids are robbed of opportunities now. Why would a coach recruit the unknown when he can bring in kid with proven ability and experience from another college.

 

[feathersax]

College football is dying right before our eyes

Pandora's Box is wide open & Pandemonium Reigns.

 

[BearBryant]

The U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement with the NCAA that will permanently bar the organization from restricting athletes’ transfer eligibility, it was announced Thursday.

A consent decree announced Thursday makes that policy change permanent, allowing athletes to transfer an unlimited number of times without penalty. This means college athletes are the ultimate free agents of the now professional world of college football.

I hate this so much.

NCAA agrees to end transfer rules permanently

Meet College Football's new owners

 

[McDad]

No, that's not equity. Steve Spurrier quit football with no consequences, I suppose. So can any player quit football with no consequences. On the other hand, had Spurrier 'transferred' to another program, he would have likely had a hefty buyout, which would have factored into his decision. Players can transfer with no buyout. You may be okay with it, but it definitely isn't 'equity'.

You're simply wrong. It's not a big deal. You brought buyouts into the chat to show how it's different somehow.
I'm going to show you the end result of the buyout argument (if it were ever applied to players like it is coaches).
Here's where we started:

How do they have the freedom to up and leave at any time? All coaches are under contract, and if they up and leave, their new athletic department pays a big buyout in most cases. Maybe there should be a buyout clause put into players' contracts (which should be coming. Crap, even the NFL has rules governing free agency.

A coach is free, like Spurrier, Kiffin, Saban et al ad infinitum, to leave anytime. Contracts and buyouts have never prevented someone from leaving when they are ready. In fact, some like Kiffin, have contracts with no buyout to leave for a dream job even at great suffering to the current school. The fact that they can and do leave is a reality in the era of buyouts. Do buyouts happen? Yes. Do coaches leave, even at inopportune times? Yes. Point is, freedom to leave and buyouts exist concurrently but do not exist prohibitively.
If buyout were applied to players like it is coaches, players contracts would be structured similarly...the school transferred to would pay the buyout and/or the student's contract would have language about transferring to their dream school with no buyout. The same dynamics would exist. People (coaches and athletes) have the freedom to pursue self interests rather than university interest.

We should applaud people doing what they feel is best for their life. It's a good thing.

 

[BreatheUT]

The U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement with the NCAA that will permanently bar the organization from restricting athletes’ transfer eligibility, it was announced Thursday.

A consent decree announced Thursday makes that policy change permanent, allowing athletes to transfer an unlimited number of times without penalty. This means college athletes are the ultimate free agents of the now professional world of college football.

I hate this so much.

NCAA agrees to end transfer rules permanently

College sports as we know it is over. Free for all. Mercenary players. Don't get used to them.

There will be very few Payton Manning's and Al Wilson's.

 

[ArmchairQB]

There are bound to be all kinds of adjustments coming. They just won’t be initiated so much by the NCAA which, if you’ve been paying attention at all for the past several decades, is probably a good thing, right?

We’re basically ripping off the bandaid and admitting that this is really semi-pro ball and has been for some time. I wouldn’t be shocked to see player contracts, and for contracts to have some upside for smaller schools, not just the programs making the most money. What if schools were recouped for their investment in a player, when that player leaves? A transfer fee, pretty much.

If you’re a college football player, you’re not just a student. You’re an athlete. You’re being provided position coaches and nutritionists and team doctors and so on, that are not offered to anyone who’s not on the team. You’re being developed and that development has cost. The athletic department is paying millions to be able to provide that. That cost, to you, is being waived because you’re putting product on the field for us. If you leave? That’s fine, free country, but we want some compensation for our development of you, that we’re no longer getting a return on via your participation. You can pay it, your destination school can agree to pay it for you, doesn’t matter.

Looking at basketball, I can see where it could make a difference for Hofstra, a school with maybe an eighth of our athletic revenue, to receive a transfer fee when we hire away a Darlinstone Dubar. Looking at us in football, I can see where if a DL leaves, their new school is getting someone who worked under Rodney Garner. There’s not going to be any remedial coaching in fundamentals and technique going on, and that has value.

That’s just one way things could wind up self-correcting somewhat. Artificially imposed constraints from the NCAA go away, and new constraints agreed between the actual participating parties take their place. If nothing else, it’ll be interesting to see what happens next.

 

[Woodrow Call]

It’s not dying.

Evolving into the NFL is more like it.

Yeah, we've fully entered the free market era of collegiate athletics. Financial matters reign supreme. However, once the athletes officially become employees and are bound by the rules of an employment contract, the institutions will gain a greater degree of control.
There will be performance metrics and clauses. Players will have contracts terminated for non-performance. HR departments will become involved, so when a player gets out of line, it won't just be the coach making the decision on how discipline is handled. The coach will have to get HR involved. All players will sign NDA's. It's the Brave New World of collegiate athletics.