[ColoradoTree]

Liberalizing transfer rules makes it less necessary for the most successful programs to develop their own talent since they will instead be able to shop for it.  They can wait until other schools recruit, train, and test high school talent and then swoop in and take the best.  Rather than high schools being the feeders for college teams, college teams will become the feeders for college teams--there is far less risk in recruiting a known college talent and correspondingly far less responsibility to improve their football skills.  Who is to say that Nick Saban would not have come to Christian McCaffrey and offered him a shot at a national championship if he jumped ship?  Maybe CMac would have said no, but that is the sort of scenario that would play out in many places.  The college game appeals to many of us over the pro game precisely because this kind of behavior is not common at the moment.  Turn the college sport into a marketplace of fungible talent that flits from school to school and the college game will no longer hold any advantage over the pros.

Now, as for the players.  Is it in their academic best-interest to transfer for football?  I have advised hundreds of transfer students (mostly not athletes) over the years and it is NEVER a smooth process, even under ideal conditions.  Transfer students graduate at lower rates and earn lower grades than "native" students--mostly because of the wasted courses and bureaucratic hurdles they have to overcome.  Different universities often have radically different academic requirements, necessitating the taking of more units.  My experience is that practically no students who transfer from one four year institution to another four year institution graduate in four years--meaning the new class of mercenary transfer athletes will likely need to stay in school after their athletic scholarships run out.  I do not believe this to be in the best interest of the students--except perhaps for a few future pros who will find bigger stages to showcase their talent before leaving without a degree.

The fact that transferring students are less likely to graduate in four years is concerning, but I think you could solve that concern with a requirement that the new institution guarantee a non-athletic scholarship for an additional year beyond the expiration of the athletic aid, so that they can finish their studies at no cost. 

Something similar could be done with grad transfers.  While I generally like grad transfers, I've disliked the fact that a player is basically funded for just half of a master's degree.  All transfers, graduate or undergraduate, should come with guaranteed non-athletic scholarship money for that extra year beyond expiration of eligibility, which should generally allow undergrads to graduate and grad transfers to get a master's degree.  It could be an athletic scholarship, too, but the point would be that these kids wouldn't count against the team's scholarship limit while they were finishing up their studies. 

Does anyone know if something like that happens now, at least on a voluntary basis?  It would seem to be a competitive advantage for attracting grad transfers.  "Football will cover the first year of your master's, but don't worry, we'll cover the second year."  Of course, the NCAA would probably deem that a violation!

[ColoradoTree]

Liberalizing transfer rules makes it less necessary for the most successful programs to develop their own talent since they will instead be able to shop for it.  They can wait until other schools recruit, train, and test high school talent and then swoop in and take the best.  Rather than high schools being the feeders for college teams, college teams will become the feeders for college teams--there is far less risk in recruiting a known college talent and correspondingly far less responsibility to improve their football skills.  Who is to say that Nick Saban would not have come to Christian McCaffrey and offered him a shot at a national championship if he jumped ship?  Maybe CMac would have said no, but that is the sort of scenario that would play out in many places.  The college game appeals to many of us over the pro game precisely because this kind of behavior is not common at the moment.  Turn the college sport into a marketplace of fungible talent that flits from school to school and the college game will no longer hold any advantage over the pros.

Now, as for the players.  Is it in their academic best-interest to transfer for football?  I have advised hundreds of transfer students (mostly not athletes) over the years and it is NEVER a smooth process, even under ideal conditions.  Transfer students graduate at lower rates and earn lower grades than "native" students--mostly because of the wasted courses and bureaucratic hurdles they have to overcome.  Different universities often have radically different academic requirements, necessitating the taking of more units.  My experience is that practically no students who transfer from one four year institution to another four year institution graduate in four years--meaning the new class of mercenary transfer athletes will likely need to stay in school after their athletic scholarships run out.  I do not believe this to be in the best interest of the students--except perhaps for a few future pros who will find bigger stages to showcase their talent before leaving without a degree.

The fact that transferring students are less likely to graduate in four years is concerning, but I think you could solve that concern with a requirement that the new institution guarantee a non-athletic scholarship for an additional year beyond the expiration of the athletic aid, so that they can finish their studies at no cost. 

Something similar could be done with grad transfers.  While I generally like grad transfers, I've disliked the fact that a player is basically funded for just half of a master's degree.  All transfers, graduate or undergraduate, should come with guaranteed non-athletic scholarship money for that extra year beyond expiration of eligibility, which should generally allow undergrads to graduate and grad transfers to get a master's degree.  It could be an athletic scholarship, too, but the point would be that these kids wouldn't count against the team's scholarship limit while they were finishing up their studies. 

Does anyone know if something like that happens now, at least on a voluntary basis?  It would seem to be a competitive advantage for attracting grad transfers.  "Football will cover the first year of your master's, but don't worry, we'll cover the second year."  Of course, the NCAA would probably deem that a violation!