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NCAA Approves Rules Preventing Coaches from Blocking Transfers, Loosening Redshirt Requirements

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The NCAA’s Division I Council passed legislation on Wednesday both affecting the redshirt regulations and altering transfer rules for student athletes.

Starting this season, coaches can no longer have a say on where their players transfer, although conferences will still obtain power to install transfer restrictions and block transferring within the conference. Still, this is a major milestone for the student athlete when there have been countless stories, including at OSU with former quarterback Wes Lunt, where the school has heavily limited the player’s prospective transfer destinations. Under the new “notification-of-transfer” model, players will request a transfer and the university will be required to enter their name into a database within two business days, at which time other coaches and schools are free to contact the player.

Although many see this as a positive step, there are some coaches who have already spoken against the rule. West Virginia head coach and former Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen is among said group.

“We spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours recruiting kids, and they sign that National Letter of Intent,” Hologorsen said according to Sporting News. “The way I raised my kids is, if they commit to something, then the end game is a degree. I mean, ultimately, they’re student-athletes.”

Alongside the adjustment in transfer regulation, redshirt rules will also be undergoing a change. Division I football players can now play in up to four games in a season and still earn a redshirt. The NCAA will keep the “five in four” model of having four potential years of eligibility but players, say, incoming freshmen, will now be able to see in-game action early on and not have to relinquish a year of eligibility.

“This change promotes not only fairness for college athletes, but also their health and well-being,” said Division I Council chair Blake James. “Redshirt football student-athletes are more likely to remain engaged with the team, and starters will be less likely to feel pressure to play through injuries.”

Both changes will be enforced this year, with the transfer changes going into effect on October 15 and the redshirt changes starting with the beginning of the 2018-19 season.

 

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