The NCAA will allow all athletes to freely transfer a second time through the end of the 2023-24 school year.
The governing body’s decision comes after a federal court ruled against the NCAA’s rule preventing players from being immediately eligible after transferring a second time. The ruling against the NCAA on Wednesday gave players a 14-day window to transfer a second time without penalty via a temporary restraining order. Friday, the NCAA acquiesced to the remainder of the school year.
"Given the unprecedented decision by the courts earlier this week, the NCAA has reached an agreement with the States to convert the temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction through the remainder of the 2023-24 NCAA championship season, as this is the best outcome for multiple-time transfer student-athletes wishing to compete immediately," the NCAA said in a statement. "This action provides clarity for student-athletes and member schools for the remainder of the academic year — any multiple-time transfer student-athlete who competes this season will be subject to the same eligibility and use of a season of competition rules as all other student-athletes."
The NCAA’s announcement comes after West Virginia and six other states filed a federal suit against the governing body. The suit said the NCAA’s transfer restrictions violated federal antitrust law and a U.S. District judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs.
The NCAA's decision is another recent example of how the governing body has changed its rules in the wake of court decisions against it. After courts and state governments have increasingly been favorable to players — state laws allowing college players to get endorsement income forced the NCAA to hurriedly enact NIL reform — the governing body is in the midst of serious reform.
Current NCAA rules allow players to be immediately eligible after they transfer for the first time. Early in 2023, the NCAA said it was tightening the rules for two-time transfers and made it tougher for players transferring twice to obtain immediate-eligibility waivers.
Those rules led to protracted processes between players and their schools and the NCAA. Most notably, North Carolina was in a protracted and public fight with the NCAA regarding the eligibility status of WR Tez Walker this fall. After North Carolina vehemently objected to the NCAA's ruling against Walker's immediate eligibility, the NCAA allowed Walker to play after the start of the 2023 season when it said that North Carolina had presented new information relating to Walker's case.