Gary Patterson: New transfer rules mean player could go to the 'highest bidder'
Add TCU coach Gary Patterson to the group of coaches who aren’t fond of the transfer rules passed by the NCAA this spring.
Thanks to an NCAA rule made official in June, players no longer have to get approval from their schools to transfer. They simply have to notify their schools they want to transfer and their schools will put their name in a database within two days. Other schools will be able to freely contact a player after he or she is in the transfer database.
Patterson thinks new rule will hurt non-Power Five schools
The database will create a system where everyone is competing against each other for good players who want to transfer from their current schools, according to Patterson.
While the longtime Horned Frogs coach said he was cool with the NCAA’s rule allowing players to play in up to four games a season and still keep their redshirt status, he’s not on board with the transfer rule. From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“Here’s what’s going to happen – players from other teams are going to start recruiting people and you can’t stop them from going wherever they’re going to go,” Patterson said. “Then it’s like what we’ve been trying to stop for a long time – it’s going to become the highest bidder. The people who are going to get hurt most by this is the non-Power Five schools.
“Schools right now, they’ve got a list of who all grad transfers are. Now, they’ll look at film and see who all the best players are[not just grad transfers] and then somebody is going to reach out and find them.
“Everybody will say nobody will do that. … OK …”
While Power Five schools will be looking for hidden gems at non-Power Five schools, we’re not sure how top-heavy the new transfer system is actually going to be. It reasons that players who aren’t getting playing time at non-Power Five schools would be wanting to transfer to smaller schools for more playing time and the transfer system would be an opportunity for smaller schools to get players they wouldn’t normally have a chance to get out of high school.
Schools can revoke aid to a transferring player
There’s a caveat to the new transfer rule; a player who wants to transfer from his or her current school must really be sure about the decision.
A week after the transfer rule was announced another rule was passed regarding the new procedures. A school now has the right to cancel a player’s scholarship for the upcoming semester if the player submits a transfer request.
Patterson also suggested a tweak to the transfer rules in the same interview. He said freshmen players shouldn’t be allowed to transfer schools, citing the number of transfers in men’s basketball.
While it’s fair to question the judgment of a freshman in college, it’s not exactly fair to prevent them from transferring when coaches can move freely from school to school without much penalty. If a coach can easily get a new job for more money or wants to leave because of a toxic environment, what should stop college athletes from having similar freedoms?
– – – – – – –
Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
Follow @NickBromberg on Twitter
More from Yahoo Sports:
• Croatia defeats England in extra time to advance to World Cup Final
• Steph Curry denies Warriors are ‘ruining the NBA’
• England fined $70K for wearing ‘unauthorized’ socks
• Caught on camera: Pacman Jones attacked at Atlanta airport
