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Transfer Rules

NCAA Transfer Rules

The NCAA transfer rules are confusing to understand. We’ll try to simply for athletes and parents what you need to know when transferring. This guide will determine what kind of transfer you are, and the path that you need to take.

How to Make Sure You Are a Transfer Athlete

COMMON WAYS THAT ATHLETES CAN TRIGGER TRANSFER STATUS:

There are a number of conditions, some more common than others, which make you a transfer. To be a transfer, you meet one of the conditions in these lists at one school, and then enroll at another school. Here are the common ways to trigger transfer status: (from most common to least common)

LESS COMMON WAYS THAT AN ATHLETE CAN TRIGGER TRANSFER STATUS:

  • You attended a class while enrolled full-time, even if you were only provisionally admitted and later denied admission
  • You attend a night school enrolled full-time if the night school has the same terms as the institution’s day school and considers you to be a regular full-time student
  • You received financial aid from the school to attend summer school prior to starting classes (unless you are denied admissions).
  • You were officially enrolled full-time for a regular term (fall or spring semester, fall, winter, or spring quarter) and present at the school on the first day of classes for that term (this is most common)
  • You reported for a regular squad practice prior to the start of classes (this is second most common)
  • You participated in practice or competed even if you were not enrolled full-time (this is third most common)

How to Know What Type of Transfer You Are

Once you are considered a transfer student, you must know what type of transfer student you are in order to make sure you comply with the correct set of requirements.

2- 4 YEAR TRANSFERS (JUCO)

A 2-4 transfer is a transfer from a two-year college (junior or community college) to a four-year college. There are two different types of 2-4 transfers with different requirements to play right away.V

A 2-4 qualifier transfer is a transfer from a two-year college who has been certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center as a final academic qualifier.

If an athlete has not been certified yet as a qualifier, he or she may go through the Eligibility Center process after starting at the two-year college. However, an athlete may not use any course work or standardized tests (SAT/ACT) taken after starting college to become a qualifier.

NON-QULAIFIUER 2-4 YEAR TRANSFERS:

A 2-4 non-qualifier transfer is a transfer from a two-year college who has not been certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center as a final academic qualifier. This includes athletes who received final certification in Divisions One and Two, athletes who received final certification in Division Two, and athletes who have not received any final certification from the Eligibility Center.

4-4 TRANSFRES (4YEAR YREANSFERS)

A 4-4 transfer is a transfer from one four-year college to another four-year college. This includes transfers from one NCAA school to another, transfers from NAIA schools to NCAA schools (or vice versa) and transfers from colleges that do not offer athletics (like international colleges) to NCAA or NAIA schools.

4-2-4 TRANSFERS

A 4-2-4 transfer is a transfer from a four-year college to a two-year college then to another four-year college. In Division One, 4-2-4 transfers have an entirely separate set of transfer rules. In Division Two, the 4-2-4 transfer rules are mixed up with the 2-4 transfer rules and are most similar to the rules that apply to non-qualifiers.

NCAA DIVISION 2 SLIDING SCALE

The NCAA Division Two sliding scale is in place for those athletes that have lower GPA’s, but have higher ACT/SAT scores and vice-versa. This gives high school athletes some wiggle room to become eligible with the NCAA Eligibility Center.

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This guide is designed to explain the NCAA transfer rules for college student-athletes. This will help breakdown the process athletes will go through when determining their eligibility should they decide to transfer. RecruitLook has outlined the information to assist you in determining what kind of transfer you are and what you’ll need to do.

NCAA 4 YEAR TRANSFER RULES

Transferring from one 4-year school to another 4-year school, also known as 4-4 transfer, is one of the more complex situations for an athlete when looking to transfer. There has been a significant jump in athletes transferring schools recently, and RecruitLook Scouts think a lot has to do with the lack of research athletes do when making a decision on college. Too many athletes focus in on going to a school based on the name on the jersey and not what is the best fit for the athlete. Here is information to help athletes know what their rights are, and to make sure they are eligible once the transfer is complete.

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NCAA TRANSFER EXCEPTIONS

The NCAA transfer process is full of rules and regulations that can determine when and where athletes are eligible to transfer. It gets even murkier when scholarship monies start to get discussed. Below are some exceptions and petitions you can file to receive a more favorable outcome.

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COLLEGE ATHLETE TRANSFERS KNOWN AS 4-2-4

Transferring from one 4-year school to JUCO and back to another 4-year school is known as a 4-2-4 transfer. This is common in college athletics nowadays. Several factors might be the cause as to why athletes transfer, but the goal of the transfer is ultimately to get a fresh start.

Once you get to college as a recruited athlete, college coaches in most cases stop tracking you; therefore, going the Junior College route is a great option to build up your recruiting ranking again. If you were at a 4-year school and didn’t see much action — college coaches don’t want to go back and recruit you based on your highlight resume and video. They’ll want to see you compete at the college level and JUCO is that option.

Here is information to help athletes know what their rights are, and to make sure they are eligible once the transfer is complete.

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JUNIOR COLLEGE TRANSFER RULES

Junior college transfer rules, also known as 2-

4 transfers, are not as abstruse as the NCAA 4-year transfer rules. However, it is critical you get the athletic departments from both the school you are transferring from and to involved early.

The information below better explains the transfer process based on your transfer status as a qualifier or non-qualifier. You cannot transfer on your own, you will need to enlist the help of your athletic department.

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