The hit Netflix series Last Chance U has enraptured college football fans for three seasons, but the future of the series could be in jeopardy.
Most of life operates via a meritocracy. If your talents outweigh your problems you’ll be allowed to stick around. As soon as that equation flips, so too does your welcome. The same is true of sports, and specifically of college football.
For decades elite-level talent has been dismissed from top-tier programs only to return down the road after a year in junior college “purgatory”. This interlude was created by the current NCAA transfer restrictions regarding players transferring from FBS institutions which stipulate the player must sit out from D1 football for a full season before returning to the field.
JUCO is a way around this rule and a proving ground for former top recruits like Malik Henry. The former 5-star recruit has found his way to Independence Community College and onto television screens across the nation as a leading character in the Netflix series Last Chance U. In its third season, the program surveys a JUCO team filled with castoffs and misfits angling to return to the D1 ranks. Players like Henry, are in and out, fulfilling their “off year” before returning to D1.
More: What’s next for Last Chance U star Malik Henry?
By every measure, the show has been an outstanding success, but that could be coming to an end soon. Every offseason then NCAA pokes and prods at the transfer rules. Coaches are allowed to pick up and leave in the middle of the night but the players they recruited are captive to the school unless, of course, they want to forgo a season on the gridiron.
Eventually, those restrictions are going to be modified. We’ve already seen the beginnings of change this offseason. Effective this fall, schools can no longer block a player from transferring to another school. The destination restriction has been lifted, next comes the time limit.
Last Chance U is possible because players that have too much talent to be playing lower than the D1 level are forced away from it. They’ve conglomerated at the aptly named Last Chance U, for now.
Next: 10 most likable characters from Last Chance U Season 1&2
As soon as that limitation disappears those players that are kicked off the team at a Power 5 school are going to find themselves a home at another Power 5 program, or at the very least, a lower-tier FBS program.
Times are changing; for now, there’s Netflix and Last Chance U. Grab your popcorn folks. This show is just getting started.