NCAA set to loosen transfer rules
The NCAA is about to make a monumental change to its transfer rules.
The Division I Council meets Wednesday and Thursday, and the agenda includes voting on a proposal that would grant all college athletes the ability to transfer one time as undergraduates without having to then sit out a season of competition.
All indications are the proposal will pass. When it does, athletes in football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and men’s ice hockey will for the first time be immediately eligible to play after switching schools without asking for special permission.
For decades, the penalty of giving up a year of eligibility helped deter athletes from transferring, at least in those high-profile sports. In all other NCAA sports, athletes were allowed to switch schools once before graduating and play immediately.
A former student is suing the University of Evansville, alleging she was sexually assaulted by former men’s basketball coach Walter McCarty and that the school failed to provide a safe environment. The Title IX lawsuit was filed Monday. In it, the former student described as a former athletic trainer at Evansville, alleges McCarty sent her inappropriate messages on social media and via text. She said that led to him pressuring her to visit his home, where he allegedly assaulted her on Dec. 9, 2019. According to the suit, the woman three days later sought counseling from a campus counselor and filed an anonymous report online with the university through Crime Stoppers. The woman said she had troubles academically and socially after the alleged assault, and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The lawsuit also claims that the university received multiple other reports of alleged inappropriate behavior by McCarty after he was hired in March 2018. The university fired him on Jan. 21, 2020, amid a university investigation over allegations of sexual misconduct.
NBA: Kevin Durant scored 31 points as the Nets beat the Timberwolves 127-97. The game was rescheduled from the previous night, in the aftermath of a fatal police shooting of a Black man in a nearby suburb of Minneapolis. The T’wolves held a moment of silence before tipoff for 20-year-old Daunte Wright, who was killed after a traffic stop. Players from both teams wore black warmup shirts that read, “With liberty and justice for all,” with the last two words in all-caps for extra emphasis.
NHL: Stars All-Star F Tyler Seguin could make his season debut in a couple of weeks. Seguin, 29, had offseason hip surgery.
Soccer: Paris Saint-Germain did just enough to knock defending champ Bayern Munich out of the Champions League and reach the semifinals for the second straight season. PSG lost a tense second-leg match 1-0 in Paris but advanced on away goals from the first leg. Bayern beat PSG in last UCL final. In other action, Chelsea advanced to its first semifinal since 2014.
WNBA: The WNBA will play a 32-game schedule that includes mini two-game series in the same city to reduce travel amid the coronavirus pandemic. The season opens May 14 and concludes Sept. 19. It will be followed by the traditional playoffs format. The league will take a break for the Tokyo Olympics from July 15-Aug. 11.