NCAA takes shot at stemming ever-increasing flood of transfers

Attorney Tom Mars

Apparently, the kangaroo court in Indianapolis that makes an occasional stab at doing something within the world of athletics has tried to slow down the transfers.

According to Adam Rittenberg at ESPN.com, the NCAA Division I Council this week has modified the rules of the transfer process and it’s pretty clear those changes will make things a little more difficult.

Tom Mars, the former Arkansas State Police director and now barrister, from Rogers apparently isn’t buying it, according to the story.

“The only thing that’s been clarified in my mind is that it will now be more difficult for student-athletes to get a waiver,” Mars said. “That’s painfully clear.”

Mars is often on the other side of the NCAA in these transfer requests and he’s been fairly successful, as in the cases of Justin Fields (Georgia to Ohio State) and Shea Patterson (Ole Miss to Michigan). He has said he gets two to three calls a day from players (or their families) about transferring.

According to the story, the changes are in just a few areas:

The adjusted guidelines address four types of waiver requests: athletes who no longer have opportunities to play at their original school; athletes who are victims of egregious behavior that impacts their health and well-being; athletes who transfer because of a recent injury or illness to an immediate family member; and athletes wanting to be closer to home because of their own injury or illness, including mental health-related issues. Waiver requests in all four subjects now will require statements from the athletic director of an athlete’s original institution explaining the athlete’s reasoning for transferring.

Maybe the biggest part that affects Arkansas’ potential transfers and immediate eligibility is the part about in the cases of a family member’s health being a reason for the transfer, that person must be within 100 miles of the school.

In Arkansas’ case, that cuts out everything down to about Morrilton to the southeast, eliminating Little Rock and the entire central part of the state.

They’ve also made an attempt to dump a lot of this in the lap of athletic directors.

Council chair Blake James from Miami said that’s part of helping “create the best student experience,” in the story.

“Having an understanding of the reasons why a young person is looking to leave and being a part of that process is something that should be happening on a more regular basis.”

There was no mention in the story of James’ involvement in the Hurricanes getting Tate Martell eligible in short order when he bailed on Ohio State after Fields’ request was approved.

“I’m sure we’ll continue to evaluate and make changes as needed that make sense to better the student experience,” James told Rittenberg.

Mars pointed out the obvious solution in the whole thing to ESPN:

“The long-term solution to this problem is blindingly obvious. The legislative council should scrap the incomprehensible waiver guidelines and replace them with a rule allowing every student-athlete to transfer one time without penalty.”

The only problem with Mars’ theory is it’s using common sense.

Which is something the NCAA has seldom collided with … especially in this transfer stuff.