Multi-time transfers in football and other fall sports who transfer before the end of the 2023-24 academic calendar will be immediately eligible to participate in 2024-25, the NCAA clarified this week in guidance sent out to schools.
Last week, the organization announced this change to the policies for spring and winter athletes, saying the decision was “the best outcome for multiple-time transfer student-athletes wishing to compete immediately.”
“This action provides clarity for student-athletes and member schools for the remainder of the academic year — any multiple-time transfer student-athlete who competes this season will be subject to the same eligibility and use of a season of competition rules as all other student-athletes,” the NCAA said in a statement.
The clarity for football players comes in the middle of the sport’s transfer portal window. The portal opened for FBS and FCS football players on Dec. 4 and closes Jan. 2. A second window runs April 16-30.
The rules surrounding multi-time transfers have been in focus since seven states filed suit in federal court on Dec. 7 to challenge the NCAA’s transfer eligibility rule as an illegal restraint on college athletes under the Sherman Antitrust Act. The NCAA, which has allowed a one-time, penalty-free transfer since 2021, still required multi-time transfers to sit out a year and forgo one season of eligibility, sans a waiver.
On Dec. 14, a federal judge in West Virginia granted a 14-day temporary restraining order (TRO) that allowed immediate eligibility for multi-time transfers. Two days later, the NCAA reached an agreement that would convert the TRO to a preliminary injunction through the end of the spring sports period.
The injunction has allowed multi-time transfers currently at their new schools to begin competing immediately in winter sports, including men’s and women’s basketball.
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2023-12-23 00:23:14
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