Emmert expects more lax transfer rule to pass vote
Like it or not, the new transfer rule seems inevitable.
NCAA president Mark Emmert is on board with changing the rule to allow college basketball players one transfer without the penalty of sitting out a season and expects it to get passed.
“Students ought to have that ability to transfer once at least during their career, and I understand the complexity that creates for coaches, and I understand it does create uncertainty in roster management, but I think it is overdue that we provide that flexibility to students,” Emmert said on a Thursday Zoom press conference prior to Saturday’s Final Four.
The vote by the Division I Council was originally slated for January along with the vote on name, image and likeness (NIL), but it was pushed back after Emmert received a letter from the Department of Justice about potential antitrust violations regarding both issues. It is now expected to be held during its scheduled April 14-15 meeting. In the meantime, the transfer portal has exploded, with close to 1,200 players entering it to explore their options with the expectation they won’t have to sit out next year.
“The rule that is being discussed right now in the [Division] I Council would allow for that to occur, and I anticipate it will be passed by the membership,” Emmert said. “That’s their decision of course, but I think it will.”
➤ Emmert blamed himself for the inequity between the men’s and women’s basketball tournament after the NCAA acknowledged the imbalance. The weight rooms were vastly different in favor of the men, as were food and gift bags given to teams.
“We dropped the ball at the women’s tournament in San Antonio,” he said. “We have to get it right now. I feel terrible.”
Emmert pledged that such a difference would never happen again, and the NCAA is reviewing how it went wrong. That includes bringing in an independent firm that specializes in gender equity.
➤ On Thursday, Emmert met with three different men’s basketball players — Geo Baker of Rutgers, Isaiah Livers of Michigan and Jordan Bohannon of Iowa — who called on him to enforce Title IX gender equity rules and allow student athletes to profit from the use of their NIL.
The players spearheaded a social media movement, in conjunction with the National College Players Association, to protest these rules they are calling on Emmert to act upon. They used the Twitter hashtag #NotNCAAProperty to bring attention to their cause.
Emmert and the NCAA have asked lawmakers for a national rule that would allow college athletes to profit from NIL with restrictions. Several states have independently passed legislation that could go into effect by July.
“We very much want, and need, a bill that goes across the country,” Emmert said. “Our hope is that we can get a bill passed in Congress.”
➤ This year’s NCAA basketball tournaments were each held in one location due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have suggested future tournaments followed this plan, instead of different sites hosting games across the country. Emmert ruled out the possibility of that happening.