This wouldn't be good

[Kung Wu]

Maybe the answer to this is there but I'm just not seeing it. I thought the player asks permission to seek a transfer school first and not conditionally based on other factors. The only way a player says, "hey coach, I want to transfer to KU" is after he's already been given permission, correct? I'm fairly confident the NCAA would word the rule such that a coach could not do what Kung Wu is suggesting.

I don't understand this dilemma or what it is I am suggesting a coach would do? Are you referring to poaching?

[wusphlash]

A paid for college education with free tutoring. Room and board for 4/5 years. Opportunities to travel across this nation and sometimes overseas free of charge. Adoration of throngs of fans. And soon, more than likely, a monthly stipend. Does the normal college student get all of this? Absolutely not. These people choose there post high school path. No one forces them to pick a particular school. If things don't work out, if the situation changes, they have an out. It may cost them a year but that's better than free range policies. There has to be some sort of order.

[Kung Wu]

A few problems with this scenario:

(1) It will destroy a guy's desire to be a team player and rewards selfishness. If he is hoping to attract a better offer, he'll want to make he sure he gets his points and minutes. Rather than passing and setting screens, he is more likely to shoot the rock at every opportunity. Essentially you Juco-izing mid major basketball where everybody is more concerned about where they are playing next instead of where they are playing now.

(2) Related to #1 - I don't want to turn into what is essentially a JUCO for top tier programs. You then end up cutting deals with the major programs saying yes, I'll house player X for a year or two and give him a certain number of minutes because I don't want to piss off coach X and risk having him house his talent at another school instead. Why would any top tier coach want to put up with that crap? Not only will we lose our best players, but it will be harder than ever to hold onto our best coaches as well.

Royal's right --- with the mere stroke of a pen, this rule would destroy all of the parity that has been built up in college basketball.

1) If a player comes into WSU with a bad attitude I can promise you he won't get any playing time. And if that happens I can promise you Kentucky will look elsewhere and pass on the guy that wasn't able to cut it at WSU.

2) I truly believe the parity in basketball isn't because elite players are spread all over the country -- they are all still attending the same schools they always were. The parity in basketball is because the gap between elite players and stud players is shrinking, and there are lots of good coaches at more schools.

[shocker3]

To where? The NCAA has been around for 100 years and has a monopoly as a top tier league association. It would take considerable effort to organize anything even remotely close to what they have going. Not impossible, but you would have to have a ton of school administrators, athletic directors, and all kinds of people organized. They could start joining semi-pro leagues I suppose like BYU's men's soccer team did. But that's all far-fetched (for now).

They have already effectively done it in football by forming the BCS. They could do the same thing in baskeball. If the power conferences decide not to participate in the ncaa basketball tournament any more and start their own championship tournament the party is over. The money for the rest of us would dry up.

[SubGod22]

Not going to happen

[RoyalShock]

I don't understand this dilemma or what it is I am suggesting a coach would do? Are you referring to poaching?

I'm referring to negotiating a scheduling deal with a school as a condition of allowing a player to transfer to said school. Or did I misunderstand what you were saying?

[shox1989]

They have already effectively done it in football by forming the BCS. They could do the same thing in baskeball. If the power conferences decide not to participate in the ncaa basketball tournament any more and start their own championship tournament the party is over. The money for the rest of us would dry up.

I have a fear that after all of the power conferences are done becoming super conferences (16 members or more each) then this is exactly what they will do. I hope I am wrong. But these BCS schools seem very greedy.

[Kung Wu]

I'm referring to negotiating a scheduling deal with a school as a condition of allowing a player to transfer to said school. Or did I misunderstand what you were saying?

Oh gotcha. That was just an off the cuff thought. I doubt there is anything preventing that today, but I'm too lazy to go through the NCAA manual.

[Kung Wu]

They have already effectively done it in football by forming the BCS. They could do the same thing in baskeball. If the power conferences decide not to participate in the ncaa basketball tournament any more and start their own championship tournament the party is over. The money for the rest of us would dry up.

The BCS isn't a league, it's a post-season selection system. It requires the rules and organization of the NCAA as a league to work. And it's history is practically as old as the NCAA itself.

[Kung Wu]

I would like ti see this have something that says a student only gets one transfer then they start losing eligibility.

I believe that's the way it will work. This is intended to be a one shot opportunity, but I am not 100% clear on that.

[Kung Wu]

Can you spell anarchy. Don’t like this at all.

1. Players are not limited on which schools they consider and certainly not forced to sign a LOI. These are young adults who should be able to consider their options, make a decision and deal with any consequences thereafter. There are already adequate transfer processes in place if they determine their first choice was the wrong one..
2. You’re inviting other coaches/boosters to recruit, or poach, players off other teams. Are there enough compliance officers to police that kind of activity? No. Is it the player’s best interest for some other party to convince him that he’s really not happy where he is? Not necessarily. It would certainly happen.
3. The NCAA has already broached this type of situation by allowing graduated players to transfer under the premise of “Available Masters programs”. “I graduated with a degree in Sociology but I want to transfer because my current school doesn’t have a Masters program in bioengineering..” Yeah, right.

And by the way, no player should be used as a bartering chip for scheduling purposes. That goes completely against the “I’m all for the players” argument.

Personally, I don’t think this is in the players best interest at all. It provides for the possibilty of them being manipulated and used. It certainly doesn’t reinforce what I think is a very important life lesson, personal accountability.

It’s just a bad idea.

Don't even get me started on the heinous thing called the NLI (Letter Of Intent).

Approximately 80% of students (not just athletes) don't declare a major initially. They have no idea what they want to be when they grow up.

Then 50% of all major declarations (not just athletes) are changed before they graduate.

Less than 1% of college basketball players will make it to the NBA. They have to have some degree of flexibility to switch majors and schools. It's really the ONLY right thing to do. Knowing that 99% of these kids won't go pro, and that probably 90%+ of the kids playing basketball can't afford college UNLESS THEY ARE PLAYING AND EARNING A SCHOLARSHIP, don't you think giving them the flexibility to pursue the best academic fit, regardless what it is, is what college sports is ultimately supposed to be acheiving? Keep in mind only students with a GPA 2.6 or higher are allowed to transfer -- rewarding students clearly focused on their education and sport at the same time.

Student athletes should not be forced to choose sport versus academics, if they have demonstrated excellence in both. They should be able to focus on school AND sport at the same time. That's the purspose of college sports. The current rule clearly is anti-student and pro-institution.

[Ta Town Shocker]

I don't see how transferring and sitting out a year to get acclimated to the new school and basketball program without losing a year of eligibility hinders either @Kung Wu:.

[wusphlash]

Kung, you are right. College kids frequently change their path of study. I, in fact, went from Chemistry to Education to Business. I did that at a small NAIA school. How many schools/departments/majors/minors to WSU, KSU and KU offer? Many. You don't have to leave an institution to change your major. In those rare cases where they must, they still have the opportunity to transfer. It just costs them a year. A year that is probably needed anyway.

Your number of posts, while making your case no more compelling, shows your passion for this matter. However, I remain unconvinced that the Free Range policy being studied is in the best interest of college atheletics. It's fraught with opportunities of abuse and is a bad idea.

[Kung Wu]

I don't see how transferring and sitting out a year to get acclimated to the new school and basketball program without losing a year of eligibility hinders either @Kung Wu:.

I don't either. So you like the new rule?

[Kung Wu]

Kung, you are right. College kids frequently change their path of study. I, in fact, went from Chemistry to Education to Business. I did that at a small NAIA school. How many schools/departments/majors/minors to WSU, KSU and KU offer? Many. You don't have to leave an institution to change your major. In those rare cases where they must, they still have the opportunity to transfer. It just costs them a year. A year that is probably needed anyway.

Your number of posts, while making your case no more compelling, shows your passion for this matter. However, I remain unconvinced that the Free Range policy being studied is in the best interest of college atheletics. It's fraught with opportunities of abuse and is a bad idea.

I would venture to guess that somewhere on the order of 80% of these kids cannot afford even one year of tuition. Once their eligibility is over they are finished. Which is why the NCAA is pushing so hard on graduation rates.