NCAA acts to slam door shut on transfer portal violations, tampering
The NCAA Division I Cabinet did its part to slam the door on tampering and helping to maintain order in collegiate athletics, approving transfer portal legislation on Wednesday.
The so-called “blind transfer” proposal approved — which takes effect immediately and applies to transfers on or after Feb. 25 — penalizes programs that sign, add or allow a transfer athlete to practice before the athlete has entered into the NCAA Transfer Portal.
The penalties that will be automatically triggered by such an infraction include:
• A suspension of the respective sport’s head coach for 50% of the season
• A fine of 20% of that sports budget.
Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks, a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee that drew up the proposal, noted the significance of the legislation.
“This is an important step in addressing key issues facing roster management and the transfer portal,” Brooks Told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“The committee’s goal throughout this process was to provide accountability for those programs that seek to sign players outside of the transfer portal. I am proud of our work and pleased with this outcome.”
Georgia coach Kirby Smart provided some insight into the importance of such legislation when he revealed the amount of attention roster requirement demands in the offseason when asked by the AJC about how NIL and transfer rules have affected offseason team allocation.
“I would say the biggest investment of time (in the offseason) is the portal and retaining your players,” Smart said. “That all falls under roster management.”
Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea applauded the Division I Cabinet’s passage of the new rule in a news release issued by the NCAA.
“I am grateful the DI Cabinet approved the FBS Oversight Committee’s recommendation to impose significant penalties on head coaches and programs who circumvent transfer rules, along with immediate accountability,” Lea said.
“This is a necessary step to address a critical roster management issue facing our sport and to protect the integrity of football’s transfer window.”
Jason Whitman, the athletic director at Illinois and chairman of the Division I Cabinet, said more rules are coming as collegiate athletics respond to the changing landscape.
“This change addresses gaps in the transfer and tampering policies that have allowed for abuse, but we acknowledge that there is more work to do,” Whitman said in the NCAA release.
“Thanks to the new, more streamlined structure for Division I decision-making, we were able to take a good idea that originated with practitioners, vet it and approve it, all in a matter of weeks. We believe closing this loophole simplifies things for student-athletes and holds schools accountable for their actions.”
The NCAA release also shared that an Infractions Process Task Force is taking a closer look at the infractions process and penalties associated with NCAA rules violations and will provide recommendations later this year.
About the Author
Mike is in his 10th season covering SEC and Georgia athletics for AJC-DawgNation and has 25 years of CFB experience. Mike is a Heisman Trophy voter and former Football Writers President who was named the National FWAA Beat Writer of the Year in January, 2018.
