Despite all the sanctions the NCAA levied on Penn State yesterday, it’s tough to argue it didn’t do just about everything it could to give PSU’s players a clearly marked escape route in the event they want to transfer. Because the Nittany Lions will not be eligible for a Big Ten title or bowl game any time soon, not to mention the steep scholarship reductions, it’s not too hard to believe there will be more than a few players who take advantage of the chance to move on.
The NCAA took the liberty of clarifying the transfer policies regarding the situation. You can read the whole release HERE, but below are some of the highlights:
- Current PSU football players can transfer to any NCAA school (all divisions) during the 2012-13 academic year and be immediately eligible, including those who transfer mid-season. Those players just have to be academically eligible. The deadline for this exemption is preseason camp in 2013. NCAA transfer rules normally mandate that an athlete sit out a year if they transfer between Division 1-A programs.
- Any incoming player can be released from his National Letter of Intent and will be allowed to compete immediately without being considered a transfer.
- Permission-to-contact rules are suspended. Penn State cannot prevent players from being re-recruited so long as the athlete and interested schools inform Penn State first.
- Off-campus and telephone recruiting rules have been suspended until the first day of classes for Penn State on Aug. 27. Additionally, official visit rules have been loosened.
- If a player transfers to another school this fall after it has already reached its scholarship limit for the 2012-13 academic year, the new school may exceed that limit provided it proportionally reduces scholarship numbers for the 2013-14 academic year. In other words, if the new school signed 25 players in 2012 and a PSU transfer gives it 26, that school can still take in the transfer so long as it only signs 24 players next signing class.
- However, if a school is facing scholarship reductions because of NCAA sanctions -- USC, for example -- it can still add the transfer as long as it doesn’t exceed the limits specified in its infractions ruling.
