<p>How common is it for D-1 athletes to change schools? Is is unethical for a coach to recruit a player for transfer. I know the letter of intent and the formal commitment of the scholarship money is year to year, but is it treated as a 4 year commitment? My daughter is very happy with her choice, but we have a close friend who did not do as well as she should have and I was wondering if she could try to get recruited somewhere else after a year or two.</p>
<p>Looking at rosters over the past couple years, it does appear that there’s some switching after a year or two. Sometimes it’s from a D1 to a D1, sometimes it changes divisions. Frankly, I don’t recall seeing a D2 or 3 going to a D1, but I have seen the reverse.
Scholarships should be renewable by year, although some schools renew even if the student stops playing. If after the first season the player is not happy, it’s in everyone’s best interest to transfer. I would hope the coach is approachable enough to have an honest discussion about it. Given that there’s always a new crop next year, I would expect that transferring is possible.
I only hope I’m not in this situation in 6 months, but you never know!</p>
<p>Thanks for your response. Fortunately, i think my daughter has found a great fit academically and athletically. However, a good friend, who is a good student and a very talented athlete got some bad guidance and and is ending up as a walk-on at a school that she in not very enthusiastic about. You never know, it may work out fine, but it is nice to think she might have a chance of an alternative down the road a year or two.</p>
<p>I believe there are strict NCAA guidelines on this and if not met, the athlete may have to sit out a season at the school they transfer to. Best to go to the NCAA site and research.</p>
<p>^^ I think it has to do with School A (the school your leaving) releases you athletically, if you were a signed athlete.</p>
<p>And i have a buddy that is, while still prefrosh, transfering from where he signed, a D1 school, to a local D2 school. He doesnt need to be released because he is going down (or that is what he told me)</p>
<p>^^ I’m foggy on these rules as well, but from what I’ve seen, much depends on whether the athlete is attempting to compete in the same league. As visionquest says, as long as the athlete is changing leagues, the coach at school A should not have a motivation to hold up the release to compete for school B, so the athlete would be able to compete in consecutive years. </p>
<p>However, I’ve heard of coaches sticking by the book when a recruit is changing to a rival school in the same division and/or league, thus preventing the athlete from competing for a year. Sometimes it depends on the specific school the athlete is transfering to, and whether the coach has an axe to grind with that program. Not a pretty side of college athletics.</p>
<p>You cannot be recruited to other colleges when enrolled in school. NCAA guidelines are very strict and harsh penalties are levied to offenders.</p>
<p>An athlete can transfer but certain rules do exist, and the athlete may have to sit our a year in some cases.</p>
<p>If this person thinks they can do better they should do a PG year at a prep school. It does not use up eligibility and colleges recruit many of these places hard for kids who fell through the cracks in high school. </p>
<p>LOI just really says you will attend that first year. You dont have to sign again each year but scholarships are renewed on an annual basis.</p>
<p>Your friend needs to contact the NCAA. Go to their website to get the telephone number and they can connect her to the correct department. Athletes transfer all the time, but there are lots of rules. Rules can vary by conference in addition to the Division. </p>
<p>Also, remember, being a walk-on does not mean you were not good enough to get a scholarship. Scholarships are limited and the team generally needs more athletes than they have scholarships available. Most walk-ons at DI schools are recruited to the team; they do not have try-outs. A walk-on is treated the same as any other team member and, in many cases, may have playing time over scholarship athletes. They are subject to the same rules of transfer as scholarship athletes. </p>
<p>It is not ethical and a coach may not “recruit” an athlete from one team to another. If an athlete is on a DI or DII team, that athlete mush have a letter of permission from the athletic director of their current school sent to the athletic director (with a CC to the coach) of the school they wish to speak with. It is against the rules for the coach of the prospective school to speak with the athlete or their parent/guardian about transferring to the program without this letter. The only instance this letter is not needed is if the athlete is transferring from DIII to DIII. I know these rules are fact as my daughter was considering a transfer recently and I spent a long while on the telephone with the NCAA. There is a booklet they have for download as well which outlines all of the transfer rules and you can probably hunt it down on their website.</p>
<p>Best of luck to your friend and her daughter!</p>
<p>If your friend is considering transferring and wishes to scope out potential schools, she should have an intermediary do it for her. An old club coach with existing relationships with college coaches might be able to see if a coach would welcome her should she transfer. Once the transfer announcement is made and the coach has agreed to it (in conference transfers will usually require a release from the current college), then it will be appropriate for the athlete to openly talk to coaches at other schools. As posted above, the NCAA help line is incredibly informative. Take advantage of it.</p>
<p>just some info… I am a current D1 soccer player at team that finished in the top 25 this past season. I just currently applied for transfer because I decided my school didn’t offer a challenging enough academic regiment and I saw coaches smudging grades to try and keep kids elgible. I plan on transferring to a close to equal soccer program but a far better academic school. And no coaches are not allowed to recruit kids at other universities. After I decided to transfer I had to go out and talk to coaches and ask my current coach to contact coaches and it worked out great. Hope that helps.</p>
<p>A veteran parent of D1 college soccer tried to explain transferring to me. I understood him to say that if an athlete receives a letter of release from the school where he/she is signed, it is possible to transfer to a school of the same or higher division without sitting out a year. If the student received a release but transferred to an institution in the same conference or a lower division, the athlete would have to “red shirt” the first year. The athlete has four years of eligibility, and the age of the student athlete is irrelevant.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if this is correct? I’ve been very grateful to knowledgeable parents along this road of athletic recruiting. The whole process is daunting for parents and kids.</p>
<p>Almost true. Yes, it is true if you receive a release then you do not have to sit out a year regardless of where you transfer. But if you go down a division you also do not have to sit out a year.</p>
<p>Do you have to sit out a year in some sports then, regardless? I follow women’s basketball, and in almost every case I have ever seen a transfer has had to sit out a year. If it’s within the same conference, it’s two years unless a release is signed, but I have only heard of one case of someone who could play immediately and she was granted some kind of waiver by the NCAA. Is this a sport thing?</p>
<p>In men’s basketball, if you transfer for anything other than personal family hardship, you have to sit out a year regardless. Football is the same.</p>
<p>ya it goes sport by sport… most kids I know in soccer transfer and are able to play the next year unless the coach won’t release them</p>
<p>Is it true that a player has to sit out a year even with a release if the school is in the same conference or if the player goes down in division?</p>
<p>i am unsure about the within same conference but I believe that is not true. And I am positive that it is not true when going down a division. When going down a division you never have to sit out in any sport. Thats why you often hear of football basketball players transferring down a division.</p>
<p>i am an international D1 freshman student athlete… and i am not liking it where i am at… and looking at transferring. The thing is that before I ask my coaches for a release I want to know my chances at being able to be accepted into another college. (Im thinking IVY) I feel stuck as i dont want my coaches to hate me and cut me and my scholarship here if i ask for a release untill i have a guarenteed spot at another place. I know it is against NCAA rules to talk to other coaches but is there anywhere I can go to to ask about my chances before this?</p>
<p>“In men’s basketball, if you transfer for anything other than personal family hardship, you have to sit out a year regardless. Football is the same.”</p>
<p>It depends on which division you are coming from and which division you are going to.</p>
<p>Were you and Ivy recruit a year ago? If someone started a rumor that you were looking to change, would an Ivy coach have heard of you and already want you?</p>