State Transfer Policies
Increased lawsuits and legislative scrutiny lead states to change transfer rules. Some states have gotten tougher, and some have become far more lenient. Here are some of the recent trends.
Florida - School Choice Rules Leads To Increase in Transfers. You can't recruit in Florida, but as long as there's no recruiting students are eligible when they transfer. See Fighting Illegal Athletic Transfers No Easy Feat For Florida School Districts by Joey Knight and Izzy Gould, St. Petersburg Times, July 24, 2009. The Florida rules lead to a general perception that illegal recruiting is going on, and nobody can do anything about it. See New Generation, New Attitudes Toward Transferring by Joey Knight, St. Petersburg Times, July 25, 2009; and High-Profile Football Transfers Raise Eyebrows, Questions by Eduardo A. Encina, St. Petersburg Times, July 23, 2009.
New Jersey: 2010 proposal would reduce most transfer ineligibility to 30 days. See NJSIAA Executive Committee Set To Vote On Proposal That Would Reduce Transfer Ineligibility Significantly by Matthew Stanmyre, Newark Star-Ledger, March 9, 2010. The NJSIAA cited the cost of dealing with appeal hearings and litigation. Cost-cutting may be a key issue for the NJSIAA as the New Jersey legislature has ordered them to cut ticket prices in a not too subtle attempt to streamline the organization. See Bill Calling For Investigation of NJSIAA Clears Assembly By Wide Margin, Newark Star-Ledger, March 15, 2010. Note: The 30 day rule was the original New Jersey rule. The rule was changed in 2008 due to complaints about the large number of public school students who transferred to private schools. New Jersey found what many states that attempt to enforce transfer rules find: it's expensive - parents don't like to hear the word "no." New Jersey also got an unintended consequence. The public schools changed their tune when the economy went south because the inflow of transfers was from private to public. Once the public schools started getting transfers rather than losing them they wanted an easier rule. The New Jersey Executive Committee passed the rule, and life will return to normal in New Jersey. See NSJIAA Approves Transfer Rule Change by Mike Moretti, New Jersey Star-Ledger, March 10, 2010.
For 'No F' Policies, see the Special Reports Page
GENERAL RECRUITING ISSUES
Champaign, IL, July 7, 2010 - Sign ‘Em Young or Others Will Says College Coach. See Illinois’ Weber: Early Offers May Limit ‘Third-Party’ Intervention by Marlen Garcia, USA Today, July 7, 2010.
San Diego, CA - April 27, 2010 - Parents, coaches and schools commit a lot of abuses when recruiting and eligibility rules are lax. The California Interscholastic Federation's San Diego Section has found that when recruiting and eligibility rules are tight those very same parents, coaches, and schools push back. In this case, a group of schools alleged that transfer penalties were applied more strictly against their schools. An investigation did not back them up. The parents are not pleased so they'll seek another investigation. If they don't like that one, they'll undoubtedly try again until they get the result that they want. See High School Sports Fight reported by Paul Kreuger, NBC News San Diego.
. See High School Sports Fight reported by Paul Kreuger, NBC News San Diego, April 27, 2010.
Chicago, IL - March 21, 2010 - Daniel Poneman: This 18 Year Old Kid Is The New Face in The Basketball Recruiting World. See Driven Young Man With a Basketball Mission by Daniel Libit, New York Times, March 21, 2010 page A25B.
Los Angeles, CA - September 15, 2009 - If you ever wondered why high schools have transfer rules, this article gives you a good idea of what can happen when people perceive a transfer rule as being loose. See Transfer of Players Is Ruining Basketball by Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, September 15, 2009. If you're wondering just how many transfers there are, the Southern Section of the California Interscholastic Federation reported completing work on 1,259 transfers between August 1 and September 15th. That's not the whole state; that's just one part of Southern California.
June 12, 2009 - For commentary about challenges facing young female athletes, and advice on how to thrive in a male dominated sports culture, see Struggling to Play, New York Times Global Edition Interactive Feature..
New York, NY - June 1, 2009 - Pushy Dad, Bad Attitude, and Alleged Sex Crime Lowers Stock Of Lance Stephenson, An Elite Basketball Recruit. See Proving His Worth: Once a Sure-Fire NCAA Prospect, Stephenson Is now Struggling To Take Next Step In His Basketball Career by Steve Yanda, Washington Post, June 1, 2009.
Middletown, OH - May 12, 2009 - Criminal Behavior Can Have A Negative Impact On Recruiting. The latest athlete to find this out is Dwayne "Deejay" Hunter, a top Ohio football star whose recruiting stock is going down because of his conduct. See High School Star Faces Charges: After-Prom Attack on Girl Is Latest Allegation by Sheila McLaughlin, Cincinnati Enquirer, May 12, 2009.
San Diego, CA - April 23, 2009 - High School Junior Chooses Pro Basketball In Europe by Marlen Garcia, USA Today, April 23, 2009.
Seattle, WA - March 22, 2009 - He's in Sixth Grade, Practices Basketball Four Hours a Day, Has his own attorney, free dental care, and Oh, Yeah he's got his own clothing line. Recruiting kids has led to the pseudo-professional child-athlete. See Allonzo Trier is In The Game by Michael Sokolove, New York Times Magazine, March 22, 2009.
Fresno, CA - March 13, 2009 - Central High Athletes Show Strength As Reading Mentors by Anne Dudley Ellis, Fresno Bee, March 13, 2009.
Arlington, VA - March 10, 2009 - Middle School College Basketball Prospects. Have We Finally Gone Too Far? See First Impressions Can Create Unrealistic Expectations For Recruits by Adam Himmelsbach, New York Times, March 10, 2009.
Durham, N.C. - March 6, 2009. Dumb Legislation Seeks To Create Smart Schools. North Carolina Senator Charlie Albertson just proposed legislation to terminate the athletic program at low performing schools. No. I did not misspeak. Sen. Albertson isn't proposing that bad students sit out. He'll cut the programs at "bad schools" even though the students who play on the sports teams may be "good" students. Dumb Legislation. I can't even say it's well-intended. It will, though, have the unintended effect of helping solve some of the budget problems that a lot of schools are having. Way to go Sen. Albertson, you're a fiscal genius! See Bill Would Send Sports at Low Performing Schools Into Sudden Death, WRAL, March 4, 2009; Click here for N.C. Sen. Bill 377.
Charlotte, N.C. - February 21, 2009 - In order to save money, Charlotte began playing frosh/soph and varsity doubleheaders instead of having the frosh/soph at one site and the varsity at another. Now schools pay for one bus instead of two. A lot of states do this. They're used to it and they don't complain. However, Charlotte just started and the first thing they noticed is that doubleheaders end late. What's the price of big-time high school sports? Well, as some people noted, It's Tough to Stay Awake In Class by Langston Wertz, Jr., Charlotte Observer, Feb. 21, 2009.
Washington, D.C. - February 9, 2009 - For a taste of recruiting reality, see DC: Inside the Recruiting World by Todd Bradley, MaxPreps.com.
Jan. 16, 2009 - NCAA Deems 7th Graders As Prospects!, ESPN.com; Got Game In 7th Grade? NCAA Says You're A Prospect by Joseph White, Associated Press Wire in Washington Post, January 15, 2009.
Jan. 14, 2009 - Recruiting Scandal Hits San Diego. Three of Nation's Top Players Transfer Into San Diego High. One Rents $2,400 a month condo While His Mother Hunts For A Job! See Basketball Transfers Accused of Violations by Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune, January 14, 2009; District Investigates SD High School Hoops Transfers by Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune, January 15, 2009; and Hearings Do Not Resolve Cavers Basketball Issue by Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune, January 16, 2009. Think the Transfers Are Bad, The Coach May Be Worse. When Criticized For His Poor Graduation Record, the coach replied, “Keeping kids eligible, winning basketball games and being successful – that's what I'm in control of,” Roy said. “I'm not in control of kids studying after they go home. I can't control kids showing up for school or not. What is Coach Roy really in control of? If it's maintaining a solid basketball program and bringing it from a local, to a state and now to a nationally recognized program, he's done that.” FOLLOW UP - 3 Cavers Basketball Coaches Are Put On Leave by Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune, January 17, 2009.
Jan. 4, 2009 - AAU Style Recruiting Hits Football - 7th and 8th graders now
play in national all star games.
Barely Teenagers, Already Groomed For Stardom by Thayer Evans & Pete
Thamel, New York Times, January 4, 2009. New programs attempt to identify
tomorrow's elite football players before the players are teenagers. For an
example, see Football
University. They're an elite camp and they make it clear, saying, "FBU
is designed to train a small and elite class of football athletes who have
already demonstrated their elite football ability, their seriousness for
football, and have chosen football as their primary sport."
Don't believe me?
Then click here and see the comment for yourself.
stars are identified
November 20, 2008 - A Mighty Success Story - Myron Rolle, A Top NFL Prospect, Interviews For Rhodes Scholarship - And The Interview's On Game Day. See For Florida State Player and Scholar, Game Day Is Different by Pete Thamel, New York Times. Follow Up - Rolle Bypasses NFL to Pursue Rhodes Scholarship. See Florida State's Rolle To Skip NFL Draft For Rhodes Scholarship by Bob Bensch and Curtis Eichelberger, Bloomberg News, January 13, 2009.
Nov. 19, 2008 - Click Here for USA Today's Special Report on Sports and Academics. Are our athletes "majoring in eligibility, with a minor in beating the system" as Univ. of Central Florida Associate Professor C. Keith Harrison contends? See Athletes Guided Toward 'Beating the System' by Jill Lieber Steeg, Jodi Upton, Patrick Bohn, and Steve Berkowitz, USA Today, November 19, 2008, page A-1; Juggling Basketball, Books by Jill Lieber Steeg, USA Today, November 19, 2008, page 7C (reporting on University of South Florida basketball player Chinyere Okpaleke, who majored in biomedical sciences while playing Division I basketball); and Minnesota Task Force Aimed At Student-Athletes by Michael McCarthy and Steve Berkowitz, USA Today, November 19, 2008, page 7C (University President orders task force to work to improve student-athletes' academic experiences and outcomes); Advisors Face a Burn-Out Field: Competing Interests Make Guiding Athletes Thorny by Erik Brady, USA Today, November 20, 2008, page 1C; and UNLV Athletes Take a Major In Disappointment: Degree Nets Questions, Not Jobs by Jill Lieber Steeg, USA Today, November 20, 2008, page 8C.
New York, N.Y. - Nov. 2, 2008 - For The Latest On Recruiting and The Importance of Club Sports see The Next Big Thing by Tommy Craggs, New York Times Play Magazine.
October 17, 2008 - East Liverpool, Ohio - Want To Motivate High School Players? Pay 'Em! Not a good idea, but every now and then someone tries it. See Columbiana County Coach Accused of Rewarding Players With Cash, WTOV Channel 9.
Lynchburg, VA - June 21, 2008 - Middle School Officials Divided over 'No F' Policy by Annie McCallum, Lynchburg News Advance, June 21, 2008. Controversy over 'No F' policies for athletes arise periodically. As this article makes clear, the dispute arises from trying to make athletes meet academic standards versus the unintended consequences of athletes either losing motivation to go to school or taking courses with little academic merit.
June 30, 2008 - The Good Side of Recruiting - This Is Why We Do It: See A Game Changer Left Unchanged By The Game by Thayer Evans, New York Times.
June 10, 2008 - Bradenton, FL - Bradenton Prep Gets Record Fine Over Its Athletics: School is Sanctioned for 19 Violations Of High School Sports Rules by Alan Dell, Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 19 violations, including recruiting, providing improper housing to athletes, and giving financial aid to athletes leads to the largest fine ever issued by the Florida High School Athletic Association.
June 7, 2008 - California Commissioner Takes Strong Stand Against Massive Cheating and Paperwork Scandal: See Bridgemont Suspended For One Year: CCS Takes Unprecedented Action After Small School Fails To Follow Eligibility Rules by Will Reisman, San Francisco Examiner page 29. San Francisco's Bridgemont High School played ineligible players, and committed numerous other violations including playing students who didn't attend the school (the article mentions only one of these players) and having inadequately prepared preparticipation physical exam forms (there's no excuse for botching up these forms - what would the school tell a parent if one of the students died?). This was strong work by Nancy Blaser, the Athletic Commissioner responsible for this investigation.
April 8, 2008 - NBA and NCAA Want To Clean Up Summer Basketball! See NBA, NCAA Joining Forces To Make Mark In Youth Summer Basketball by Steve Wieberg, USA Today, April 7, 2008 page 8C.
St. Louis, MO - April 4, 2008 - Vashon HS May Have To Forfeit Multiple Championships. See 5 Former Vashon Players Were Ineligible by Lee Logan and David Hunn, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (a pretty sordid tale of recruiting, mail and wire fraud and illegal real estate schemes).
New York, N.Y. - March 10, 2008 - So, What Is That Athletic Scholarship Really Worth? See Expectations Lose to Reality of Sports Scholarships by Bill Pennington, New York Times, March 10, 2008.
Aston, PA - February 21, 2008 - Recruiting/Life/Pressures on Top Prep Stars Are So Intense That Some Turn to Family for Protection/Guidance. See Prep Star's Rise Aided By His Brother's Best Intentions by Jere Longman, New York Times, February 21, 2008 (reporting on Tyreke Evans's family guiding him through life as a top Pennsylvania basketball recruit).
San Francisco, CA - February 13, 2008 - Early Commitment - Sometimes Very Early: Freshmen & Sophomore Athletes Commit To Schools Early. See Recruiting's Junior Achievement: Where to Go Comes Before Time To Grow by Will McCulloch, San Francisco Chronicle, February 13, 2008. Don't Think The Sports World Is All Too Different From The Academic World - Many Elite Colleges Instituted Controversial Binding Early Admissions Programs In the Past Decade. The programs allow these colleges to recruit academic superstars earlier than they would normally get them. The programs place the little guys at a disadvantage (in this case the little guys are kids who aren't from elite college prep high schools and in sports the little guys are kids who develop through a normal high school process). Superstar high stakes academia and superstar high stakes sports have many similarities. For an idea of the scope of the problem, see this Editorial from the Jan. 8, 2002 Stanford Daily. The biggest difference between sports and academia is that Harvard will always be Harvard and can back away from early admissions, the elite teams in the sports world have to win every year or they won't be elite - they can't back away from early commitments. Interestingly enough, Harvard did back away from early admissions. See Harvard to Eliminate Early Admissions, Harvard Gazette, September 12, 2006.
Wave of Scholarship Offers to 8th and 9th Graders Leads to Backlash: See Coaches Call For No More Courting Of Pre-Juniors by Steve Wieberg, USA Today, June 20, 2008, page 9C, and Opposition To Eighth Grade Recruiting by Michael Marot, Associated Press, published in San Francisco Chronicle, June 20, 2008, page D9.
Utah, 2008 - Home School/Athletic Transfer Battle Brews In Utah
There's a debate brewing in a number of states over legislatures taking over athletic transfers, and whether there should be no transfer standards at all. At the same time, there's a debate in a number of states over whether and under what circumstances home schoolers can play. It's coming to a head in Utah. See Home School Debate Reignited by Amy Donaldson, Deseret Morning News, Feb. 6, 2008, and Athletic Transfer Bill Moves by Amy Donaldson, Deseret Morning News, Feb. 22, 2008.
Stockton, CA - September 26, 2007 - Stockton/Samoa Illegal High School Recruiting Pipeline Exposed: See Football Recruit Charges Detailed: American Samoan Kids Residency Faked, Prep Probe Finds, by Quwan Spears, Sacramento Bee, September 26, 2007 page A14. For more see Probe: High School Coach Illegally Recruited Samoan Players, USA Today, September 27, 2007, and On Preps: Scrutiny Shadows Issue of Transfers by Joe Davidson, Sacramento Bee, September 28, 2007, page C7; Officials Shut Down Franklin Football, San Francisco Chronicle, October 31, 2007 page D7 (Franklin football gets death penalty after refusing to sit illegally recruited players).
Hoover, AL - July 20, 2007 - The 2007 high school gets under way with a massive grade fixing scandal at Alabama's Hoover High School. The Board of Ed. appointed retired federal judge Sam Pointer to investigate the allegations, resulting in the following story that provides plenty of background: Pointer Outlines Investigation Of School Athletics by Erin Stock, The Birmingham News, July 20, 2007. Hoover High is a national football power, and was recently focused on MTV's Two A Days show, leading to sports coverage on reality t.v. sites. Click here for realitytvworld.com's coverage. Also, see the June 22, 2007 coverage in the Birmingham Weekly Blog. Click Here For The Hoover Board of Ed's Report On The Athletic Scandal.
Lakewood, CA - February 9, 2007 - Do Prep Basketball Teams Go Too Far: Long-Distance Trips, Whirlwind Schedules Mean Missed Class Time But More TV Exposure, Money by David Leon Moore, USA Today page C1.
Washington, D.C. - Jan 23, 2007 - Knight Commission Explores the Changing Face of Recruiting - See Commission Told of Big Changes In Recruiting, by Jack Carey, USA Today, January 23, 2007 page 5C. Click here for more on the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics.
San Jose, CA - Jan. 10, 2007 - Basketball Transfers Troubling To Many, by David Kiefer, San Jose Mercury News, Jan. 10, 2007 (a rash of high profile transfers hits California's CIF Central Coast Section - is this a continuance of a trend of sports transcending the academic purpose of schools?).
Click here to follow the 2006 NCAA Diploma Mill Investigation.
Chicago, IL - Nov. 21, 2006 - Brothers Step Up To Protect, Guide Top Chicago High School Recruit. See The Well-Guarded Guard by George Dohrmann, Sports Illustrated, November 21, 2006 (on the protection and recruiting of Simeon's Derek Rose). The brothers were successful as Rose enjoyed a successful college tenure and now plays in the NBA.
Nov. 21, 2006 - Parents, High School Officials At Odds Over Motivation For Athletes' Transfers by Ray Glier, USA Today.
Seattle, WA - July 26, 2006 - Chief Sealth Stripped of State Titles, by Christine Willmsen and Michael Ko, Seattle Times, July 26, 2006. Massive high school girls' basketball recruiting scandal results in 4 years of forfeits and state stripping two state championships from Chief Sealth girls. For more on the scandal see WIAA Strips Hoops Titles From Chief Sealth Girls, Tacoma News Tribune, July 26, 2006, and Seattle H.S. Stripped of Hoops Titles, Associated Press July 25, 2006.
St. Petersburg, FL - May 16, 2006 - St. Petersburg (FL) Catholic Penalized for recruiting and illegal practices. St. Petersburg Catholic Coach and AD Staying by John Cotey, St. Petersburg Times, May 16, 2006. The Coach and AD later resigned and the penalties were reduced. See FHSAA Reduces SPC Penalties by Joe Smith, St. Petersburg Times, July 26, 2007. Click here for TampaBay.com reprint of article.
Redwood City, CA - Feb. 4, 2006 - Address Falsification in High School Basketball Leads To Forfeits.
2006 - Washington D.C. - 10 Year Olds Recruited, AAU Ball Taking Over: Follow the Washington Post's 2006 Series, The Player Chase, which examines youth basketball in the United States.
Academic Fraud: Coach Takes Test For College Athlete at TCU, NCAA Finds Fraud At TCU, Inside Higher Ed.Com, Sept. 23, 2005.
March 2002 - The Kevin Ross story is a cautionary tale of what happens when the academic system defaults, and continues to give passing grades to a nice kid just so he can play sports. Kevin Ross graduated from high school and completed four years of college without actually learning to read. He left college in 1982 and attended the renowned Westside Prep Elementary School (now called the Marva Collins School) run by Marva Collins (click here for Marva's bio in pdf format), ultimately learning to read. His story is documented here in Outside The Lines: Unable To Read, ESPN March 17, 2002.
July 2001 - International Recruiting Issues at the High School Level. See 'Round The World by Shelly Wilson, Athletic Management, June/July 2001.
Los Angeles, CA - January 31, 1990 - 'No F' Policy for Student Activities Dropped In L.A., Education Week, Jan. 31, 1990.