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NCAA approves immediate eligibility for transfer players

Becoming official on April 28th, college football and basketball players will be able to freely transfer with immediate eligibility at their new school.

On Thursday afternoon the NCAA Division 1 Council approved immediate eligibility for any athletes that transfer, and they will no longer have to sit out their first season after doing so.

"Allowing student-athletes a one-time opportunity to transfer and compete immediately provides a uniform, equitable and understandable approach that benefits all student-athletes," said council vice chair and Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher.

This is a rule that has been in the works for a while, and was likely streamlined with the recent addition of pandemic transfers, in which the NCAA allowed players to transfer and retain a year of immediate eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the new rule, any football, basketball or hockey players who want to transfer and be eligible must announce their decision by May 1. Baseball players will have until July 1 to put their names into the transfer portal.

While the transfer portal has been a big phrase over the past couple of years, it will likely only become bigger after this decision. Expect players transferring to become sort of a normal process, especially with the potential of college athletes making money off of their name and likeness in the future.

The decision to allow transfers immediate eligibility will certainly impact CMU in a big way, both positive and negative. The Chippewas football program most recently saw big names like Mike Danna and Tony Poljan transfer away, while quarterback Jacob Sirmon has transferred from Washington to CMU and will be immediately eligible.

With Central Michigan currently searching for a new men's basketball coach, expect them to look to the transfer portal to bring more change to the program.

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