NCAA Basketball Transfer Rules
Basketball players can be transferred from one division to another for one reason or the other. NOTE: We have a link with the NCAA transfer portal and process below but please read the entire article to gain insight.
This exercise should be in line with the provisions of the NCAA basketball transfer rules before it can be successfully carried out. Division 3 (D3) basketball players who intend to move to Division 2 (D2) or Division 1 (D1) institutions are expected to be registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center.
Both D1 and D2 student-athletes are already familiar with the NCAA Clearinghouse but more care should be exercised by D3 student-athletes since they didn’t have the requisite experience yet. But, based on the NCAA basketball transfer rules, a D3 student-athlete who intends to be transferred to another D3 school need not opt for the NCAA Clearinghouse registration.
The outcome depends on how you want to go about the whole process as a D3 student-athlete. If you like, activate self-release, forge ahead with the contacting, and log-in into the NCAA transfer portal to do the needful.
You Must Follow The provisions of the NCAA basketball transfer rules
It is very easy to abide by the provisions of the NCAA basketball transfer rules. So, there is no room for panic. True, the rules do not mean that you would have to secure a release from the institution you currently attend but it is encouraged you get the release.
This release is normal but it is not a rigid condition for the transfer to come into reality. And, interestingly, most NCAA schools will allow you to perfect the requirements before they speak to you.
But, as pointed out earlier, the NCAA basketball transfer rules stipulate that you must pass the eligibility test of the NCAA Eligibility Center before the transfer can be effected, but not when a D3 student-athlete is moving to another D3 institution.
Any other transfer has to be certified by the eligibility center, in line with the provisions of the NCAA basketball transfer rules. What applies to a student-athlete who wants to move from D3 or D2 to D1 college in baseball, football, hockey, and basketball remains the same.
NCAA Can Stop You But You Have Options
In most cases, the NCAA rules state that intending student-athletes won’t feature, be able to play in any competition in the first year. But this is not true and won’t be the case if the student-athlete is switching from a D2 college to a D3 institution.
However, if a few student-athletes intend to leave D1 for D2 or D3, the whole process has been made simple.
Once the student-athletes are considered athletically and academically eligible in their previous institutions, they may be allowed to compete for straightaway in the schools they got transferred to.
Brett Elliott, a former Utah quarterback student-athlete got a transfer to Linfield, in what has been termed as one of the most famous transfers in history, was instrumental to the Wildcats, as he helped his new-found team win the D3 championship in 2004.
Student-athletes should always remember that they need to supply necessary information about their transfers on the NCAA transfer portal before making any attempt to contact any D3 institution.
This requirement has not been extended to D2 student-athletes. It is expected that you, being a student-athlete, should pay keen attention to the provisions of the NCAA basketball transfer rules that govern your division.
How Often Can You Do Transfer
Situations could make you want to do the transfer, even after you had done it not quite long.
Don’t just think that you can’t do transfer when there is a need for it. What remains clear is that certain penalties may go with it if the transfer is against the laid-down NCAA basketball transfer rules. So, there is a need to see what the NCAA basketball transfer rules say about this.
Perhaps, you attended a four-year school but had to move to a junior college because of one reason or the other. You may return to a four-year school without any form of penalty, according to the rules.
But, you have to fulfill a few academic requirements and sit out one full academic year before you can compete for the four-year school.
But, if you have attended a few four-year institutions at the time and only two out of the schools run your favorite sports, the NCAA 4-4-4 transfer rule will come into effect. Under this rule, a year of eligibility will go for it but there are exceptions too.
Minimum GPA for NCAA Transfer Rules
Based on the NCAA basketball transfer rules, student-athletes with a minimum GPA of 2.0 are eligible for college sports in their current and future institutions.
Being a student-athlete, you need to be on this grade point before you can be open for transfer. But Student-athletes will need higher GPAs if they intend to move from two-year schools to four-year institutions.
NCAA Graduate Transfer Rules
Here, student-athletes can be transferred from one institution to another and can compete almost immediately. But such students are expected to bag their bachelor’s degrees before they left their previous institutions.
So, in addition to this, the intending student-athletes should be eligible to play, and nothing will stop them from taking part in basketball competitions in the institutions they were transferred to.
It should be made known that this rule, being an aspect of the NCAA basketball transfer rules, has become very popular.
Russell Wilson is a prime example of this transfer rule. He chose to leave North Carolina State for Wisconsin in 2011. And, in the fall of the season, he played quarterback.
With this transfer rule, a player could be punished if he had graduated in a school and wanted to go to another graduate school in another place.
However, a recent proposal was made to alter or change the NCAA basketball transfer rules that mandated schools to count student-athletes who have used scholarship for two years.
The proposal exempted student-athletes who did not earn a graduate degree in one year but the proposal never saw the light of the day.
NCAA Basketball Transfer Rules Advice
Student-athletes who intend to move from one division to the other should take their time to study the NCAA basketball transfer rules. Issues of eligibility must be sorted out before the move can materialize.
Also, these rules affect student-athletes who are into football, baseball, and other notable college sports.
True, NCAA rules look alike in college sports but significant differences can be seen from one division to the other. If care is not taken to consider these rules, the task of moving from one division to the other will remain a daunting one.
College students should, therefore, pay keen attention to the whole process, get useful and purposeful resources that could educate them, and ensure they took the necessary decisions as at when due.
Avoid Transferring By Doing Due Diligence During Your High school Recruiting Process
Employees of the NCAA understand the provisions of the NCAA basketball transfer rules and its eligibility, as well as the needful steps that should be taken before the recruitment process can take firm shape. Most student-athletes do not understand the provisions of these NCAA rules and the coaching staff that is getting them recruited.
Student-athletes who search for information on NCAA transfer rules may have to do this from time to time before they can get the necessary information they need to do the needful.
This delay, most times, is caused by a lack of experience. Coaching staff, due to their rich experience, easily recruit many student-athletes each year.