The NCAA has revised the Division I 4-4 Undergraduate Transfer Directive. Student-Athletes that transferred during the 2014-15 academic year may seek immediate eligibility via the legislative relief process. Those individuals transferring during the summer of 2015 will be reviewed under the new directive (e.g., no immediate eligibility–one year extension to the student-athlete’s eligibility clock.
Application of the NCAA Division I Committee for Legislative Relief 4-4 Transfer Directive
On the recommendation of the NCAA Division I Leadership Council Transfer Issues Subcommittee, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors ratified an amendment to the NCAA Division I Committee for Legislative Relief policies to specify that immediate eligibility no longer be provided for 4-4 undergraduate student-athletes who are not eligible to use a transfer exception. Instead, a one-year extension of the five-year clock for mitigating circumstances may be provided and any mitigation will continue to be evaluated under the current Committee for Legislative Relief waiver policies and guidelines. This change is effective for all undergraduate transfers seeking immediate eligibility during the 2015-16 academic year and thereafter. The following questions and answers are designed to assist the NCAA Division I membership with the application of legislation related to the 4-4 transfer directive.
Editor’s Note: This document was updated May 28, 2015. Questions that have been edited or added are shaded in gray.
Question No. 1: Is immediate eligibility an option for any 4-4 undergraduate transfer student-athlete who is not eligible to use the one-time transfer exception or any other transfer exception?
Answer: No. If an undergraduate student-athlete is not eligible to use a transfer exception (e.g., participates in a sport that is not eligible to use the one-time transfer, 4-4-4 transfer, etc.), an institution may seek a waiver to extend the student-athlete’s eligibility clock as immediate eligibility as a form of relief is not available.
Question No. 2: Must an institution determine that the student-athlete needs an extension of his or her eligibility clock prior to seeking a waiver for an extension?
Answer: No. Even though the student-athlete may not need an extension of his or her eligibility clock at the time of transfer, an institution may still proactively file an extension waiver request to determine whether the student-athlete will receive an extension of his or her clock to use in a later year, if necessary.
Question No. 3: Must an institution file a legislative relief waiver seeking an extension of the student-athlete’s five-year eligibility clock at the time of the student-athlete’s transfer?
Answer: No. An extension waiver may be filed at the time of transfer or in future academic years during the student-athlete’s enrollment. However, institutions should be mindful that contemporaneous documentation may be required to comply with Committee for Legislative Relief guidelines regardless of when the waiver is submitted.
Question No. 4: The student-athlete transferred and enrolled at my institution prior to the 2015 fall term. Is immediate eligibility an option for the student-athlete?
Answer: If the student-athlete enrolled during the 2014-15 academic year, the previous transfer directive is still applicable and immediate eligibility may be available via the legislative relief waiver process. Student-athletes enrolling during the 2015 summer term will be subject to the new transfer directive. However, an institution may file a legislative relief waiver to seek immediate eligibility for a student-athlete enrolling during the 2015 summer or fall term if the institution can demonstrate that it detrimentally relied on previous communications regarding the new transfer directive and ceased recruiting the student-athlete for enrollment during the 2015 spring term.
Question No. 5: How do I know if I should file an NCAA Division I Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement extension request or a Committee for Legislative Relief waiver request?
Answer: If the student-athlete has two or fewer denied participation opportunities and one of the denied participation opportunities will be, or is a result of a transfer year in residence, then the institution should file a Committee for Legislative Relief waiver.
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