Coaches everywhere likely let out a collective sigh when word broke that, starting in October, student athletes will no longer have to seek permission to transfer. Instead, they'll simply inform their current school, and the school will enter the kid's name into a national database of other kids also looking to transfer as part of a brand new model.
The aim of the new "notification-to-transfer" model is to get away from situations where coaches could restrict the student athletes from transferring to specific schools, rival schools, or other schools in their league. But a lot of coaches, including TCU's Gary Patterson are worried about the message it's going to be sending kids.
Patterson didn't mince words when asked about where he stood on the issue, especially when it comes to freshman, in a Star-Telegram article. He first points out that college basketball had 800 transfers last year, and considering football works with nearly 8 times the scholarships that basketball programs are allotted, that could be a huge issue for kids that left high school as the star player on their team, to now battling for playing time, being away from home, and all the other issues college freshman have to deal with.
Via the Star-Telegram:
“What we’re teaching our kids to do is quit. I’m not starting. I’m not getting my playing time. Every freshman I’ve ever known wants to transfer because it’s harder than anything else he did in high school.
“As I tell people all the time, at your house you’re going to allow your 17-year-old, 18-year-old to run your household? Let them pay your bills, that’s what you do? No. You don’t do that. So why are we putting our jobs in jeopardy because of an 18-year-old? That’s stupid.”
Patterson also shared that not having a deadline like January 1 for kids to declare their intention to transfer also hurts football programs because it would allow them to identify needs in a recruiting class to address, without a deadline that is much more difficult to have a handle on.
In all honesty, seeing how so many (not all) recruits today relish the recruiting attention, I tend to agree with Patterson here. Things get tough for a lot of kids that freshman year, and the new NCAA transfer model certainly gives those kids the easy way out to the immediate gratification of being wanted by another school again, instead of staying with a commitment and pushing through the difficult times.
Head here to read the full piece, including where Patterson stands ona few of the other recent rule changes.