To most people, the NCAA is nothing more than an acronym, a bland blue-disc logo, and the origin of a bunch of rules they don't like. That's the point, after all. The purpose of the organization is to be a nameless, faceless orb that exists to enforce the rules that they don't like. To be the bad guy. To be a punching bag.
On Tuesday, the punching bag punched back.
The NCAA -- specifically, the Division I Board of Directors -- released a lengthy statement defending the recent actions enforcing its crack-down on two-time transfers.
The official purpose of the statement was to respond to death threats sent to an NCAA board member, but the unofficial purpose was to punch back at North Carolina head coach Mack Brown.
For those unaware, last week the NCAA denied North Carolina's appeal of the Board's ruling that Tar Heels transfer wide receiver Tez Walker is ineligible to play this season. North Carolina was Walker's second transfer, his third college destination, but UNC felt his case was different because: A) Walker did not play at his first school, North Carolina Central, because NC Central did not have a season in 2020; and B) Walker transferred to UNC before the NCAA announced it was changing the rules regarding 2-time transfers. Both of Walker's previous schools, North Carolina Central and Kent State, support him playing for the Tar Heels this season.
The point of the NCAA's statement on Tuesday was to remind the public that the national office is simply applying the rules that its member schools and conferences wrote and supported. Here is the statement in full, with the punchiest lines in bold.
The Division I Board of Directors believes that NCAA staff and the committee are applying transfer waiver guidelines as intended by member schools and giving proper and full consideration to individual cases, including consulting a panel of licensed mental health experts for cases in which mental health is cited as a reason for transfer. The DI Board last year directed the DI Council to refine the guidelines for transfer waivers and apply those guidelines to the 2023-24 academic year. These new guidelines were supported unanimously by all 32 Division I conferences in January, and prior to that were widely supported by member schools and coaches associations.
Academic data demonstrates that transferring typically slows student-athletes' progress toward a degree, especially with those who transfer later. It stands to reason that multiple transfers would further slow time to a degree. Citing extenuating factors, such as mental health, does not necessarily support a waiver request but instead may, in some situations, suggest a student-athlete should be primarily focused on addressing those critical issues during the initial transition to a third school.
The DI Board Administrative Committee was briefed Monday on the current status of transfer waivers for this academic year. There are 21,685 student-athletes who entered the transfer portal this year. The bulk of those transfer students are first-time transfers who enrolled at their first schools and are now immediately eligible to compete at their new schools – which was the intent of the transfer rule change. Of those who entered the portal, 3% would be multiple time transfers who would require a waiver to compete immediately for this academic year if enrolled at a new school.
The DI Board is troubled by the public remarks made last week by some of the University of North Carolina leadership. Those comments directly contradict what we and our fellow Division I members and coaches called for vociferously – including UNC's own football coach. We are a membership organization, and rather than pursue a public relations campaign that can contribute to a charged environment for our peers who volunteer on committees, we encourage members to use established and agreed upon procedures to voice concerns and propose and adopt rule or policy changes if they are dissatisfied.
The statement was signed by DI board chairman and Georgia president Jere Morehead, and DI Board vice chairman and University of Evansville president Christopher Pietruszkiewicz.
"As has been clearly documented, Tez should be eligible for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the mental health issues he's faced during his time in college. And with this decision, the NCAA has placed an unnecessary burden on him. He's had a rough go of it and this will surely only make it worse. How dare they ever speak about mental health and student-athlete welfare again," Brown said last week after Walker's appeal was denied. "We've got complete rosters overhauled through the transfer portal, players playing in their 8th year of college, players playing at their fourth school, and the list goes on. Yet, Tez Walker, who has only played football at one school, isn't eligible. It makes no sense and it never will.
"Shame on you, NCAA. SHAME ON YOU!"
Brown said Tuesday that he does not expect Walker to play this season. It's now the official position of the NCAA Division I Board, citing rules supported by its member, that that is in Walker's best interests.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.