Getty Image / Grant Halverson
With the college football transfer portal currently open, the transfer rules of the NCAA are in the spotlight every day right now. Now, over a half-dozen states have sued the NCAA over their transfer rules, specifically those that prohibit immediate eligibility for undergraduates who have already transferred.
The lawsuit, which alleges Federal antitrust law violations, was filed Thursday. Here’s The Athletic with more.
“Seven states filed suit in federal court on Thursday, challenging the NCAA’s transfer eligibility rule as an illegal restraint on college athletes under the Sherman Antitrust Act. The NCAA, which ratified a one-time, penalty-free transfer rule in April 2021, still requires multi-time transfer athletes to sit out a year in residence and forgo a season of eligibility unless they are granted a waiver for immediate eligibility.
The complaint argues the multi-time transfer rule is unlawful on the grounds of antitrust and seeks a permanent injunction of the rule. Ohio attorney general Dave Yost, via a spokesperson, also noted that the plaintiffs would be seeking a preliminary injunction via a temporary restraining order. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the northern district of West Virginia, Clarksburg division, and includes Ohio, Colorado, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. If a judge were to grant an injunction, it would likely render any Division I college athletes currently seeking a waiver as immediately eligible to participate.
A potential injunction would apply most directly to men’s and women’s basketball at the moment, but could also have an impact on college football transfers for next season, particularly with the transfer portal window currently open through Jan. 2, 2024.”
You may remember the saga between UNC wide receiver Tez Walker and NCAA this season. Walker, who had technically enrolled at North Carolina Central but never played a snap there, was on his second transfer after transferring from Kent State. The NCAA had ruled him ineligible and denied repeated waiver requests, sparking outrage. Walker eventually did get the waiver in early October, but it certainly drove conversation about this issue.
If you think the transfer portal is wild now, just imagine if there were no restrictions on how many times a player could transfer. It would be pure anarchy. At least know we have some semblance of structure.
It’s unclear if this lawsuit will succeed or not. Given the NCAA’s recent track record in court, it seems to have a pretty good chance of succeeding.