Waiver helps teams replace transfers
Coaches left shorthanded as players switched schools
Looking to address the growing number of transfers, the NCAA Division I Council approved a oneyear waiver Tuesday that will allow college football teams to sign up to seven players to replace those who leave.
Current NCAA rules state a team can sign no more than 25 players to a scholarship in any year. That includes incoming high school prospects and college transfers. The waiver will allow teams to sign 25 players, plus as many as seven transfers — not high school players — to replace those who transfer out in the first term.
Football players still cannot transfer during the season and become eligible to compete at their new schools.
With the loosening of transfer rules leading to more players switching teams, combined with the bonus year of eligibility granted to athletes who competed during the pandemic in 2020, coaches had two main concerns:
— Not being able to replenish a roster after a potential mass exodus of transfers.
— Not being able to sign a full complement of high school prospects because an increased number of scholarships were being used on transfers.
“We believe schools should have temporary flexibility to address possible roster depletion due to transfers,” Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour, a member of the D-I Council, said in a statement. “This one-year waiver enables schools to properly utilize their their scholarship limitations.”
The waiver is expected to become official after the Division I Council meeting concludes Wednesday.
Note: Maryland receiver Dontay Demus is expected to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, a blow to one of the Big Ten’s top passing offenses. Coach Michael Locksley updated Demus’ status Tuesday. Demus leads the Big Ten with 507 yards receiving on the season, but he was injured returning a kickoff in Friday’s 51-14 loss to Iowa.
Maryland wide receiver Dontay Demus is expected to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury sustained returning a kickoff. He leads the Big Ten with 507 yards receiving.