College Football’s 5th Quarter: Pre-National Signing Day transfers and scandals

2. New transfer rules have been proposed

A new transfer proposal would allow Division I athletes to transfer without having to sit out a year if their coach is fired or takes another job. The athlete couldn’t follow his or her coach, but they can now transfer out without the redshirt year or lost year of eligibility. The Iowa State Cyclones Athletic Director Jamie Pollard was quoted saying, “For the first time ever in college athletics, the student-athlete is empowered.” After watching specials on Netflix like Schooled: The Price of College Sports this seems like a stark change from the past century of college football.

Coaches have long been able to block where a player will transfer to. For instance, the Florida Gators might block a player from any SEC school or other school on their schedule for the next two years. Now that wouldn’t be an option, especially if the coach has left or been fired. The practices regarding blocking transfers and forcing players out of their scholarships would be stopped with this new proposal.

For all of the freedom this gives athletes to get them in some galaxy of the coaches and their pay and freedom (not quite the same planet, though) there is one assumed con- the world of men’s college basketball already has a 40 percent transfer rate and people fear that will happen to college football. If it does, so be it.