[81alum]

I struggle with this dislike of students choosing to transfer. I can understand not like the new transfer portal which has created the ability for schools to pluck players in which they are in need; I understand that part mainly because Stanford isn’t able to do so in the way many schools can.  And it may well put us at a disadvantage.  But things always change…and those that adapt move forward.  

But my main concern is why the athletes get flack about it.  They spend years deciding what school to go to, starting probably around 14-15.  Fast forward to 20. Things change.  What you want in life and the place you see yourself can change.  These athletes have worked very hard to put themselves in a position to use that to their advantage … if their athletic skill can put them in a place they believe will make them happier, good for them! I just don’t understand why many view it as a bad decision. It’s their life to choose how to live.

I am somewhat sympathetic to a single transfer, particularly if there has been a coaching change, or if a student's academic plans have changed in a way that their current university cannot support. 

But I also think students, like all of us, need to learn the importance of commitment and loyalty.  In fact, that used to be one of the reasons that intercollegiate athletics were said to be justified at all.  I felt very strongly that universities should make 4-year commitments to their student-athletes with guaranteed scholarships.  But I also feel that under normal circumstances students should make similar commitments to their universities.  Reasonable exceptions, of course, but they should not be the rule.

What the current environment is teaching is that student-athletes should constantly be shopping for a better deal, whatever their commitments might have been in the past.  It is a deeply me-first culture.  I see why that is entirely appropriate for a world of business and employment--but  those are not the values of higher education.  Those are the values of minor-league professional sports, and belong there.

[81alum]

I struggle with this dislike of students choosing to transfer. I can understand not like the new transfer portal which has created the ability for schools to pluck players in which they are in need; I understand that part mainly because Stanford isn’t able to do so in the way many schools can.  And it may well put us at a disadvantage.  But things always change…and those that adapt move forward.  

But my main concern is why the athletes get flack about it.  They spend years deciding what school to go to, starting probably around 14-15.  Fast forward to 20. Things change.  What you want in life and the place you see yourself can change.  These athletes have worked very hard to put themselves in a position to use that to their advantage … if their athletic skill can put them in a place they believe will make them happier, good for them! I just don’t understand why many view it as a bad decision. It’s their life to choose how to live.

I am somewhat sympathetic to a single transfer, particularly if there has been a coaching change, or if a student's academic plans have changed in a way that their current university cannot support. 

But I also think students, like all of us, need to learn the importance of commitment and loyalty.  In fact, that used to be one of the reasons that intercollegiate athletics were said to be justified at all.  I felt very strongly that universities should make 4-year commitments to their student-athletes with guaranteed scholarships.  But I also feel that under normal circumstances students should make similar commitments to their universities.  Reasonable exceptions, of course, but they should not be the rule.

What the current environment is teaching is that student-athletes should constantly be shopping for a better deal, whatever their commitments might have been in the past.  It is a deeply me-first culture.  I see why that is entirely appropriate for a world of business and employment--but  those are not the values of higher education.  Those are the values of minor-league professional sports, and belong there.