CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With college basketball's portal season about to begin, athletes who have transferred multiple times can compete in the next academic year if they meet conditions while a lawsuit against the NCAA continues, the organization said Wednesday.
The NCAA issued the guidance as an update to a document previously distributed to its member schools regarding its redshirt rule as it relates to the lawsuit filed by a coalition of states. In December, a federal judge in West Virginia allowed multiple transfer athletes who were denied the opportunity to immediately compete to play for the remainder of this academic year.
NCAA rules allow freshmen to transfer once without having to sit out a year. But a further transfer as a college student typically requires the NCAA to grant a waiver allowing the athlete to compete immediately. Without it, the athlete would have to be absent from the new school for a year.
Last January, the NCAA implemented stricter guidelines for granting those waivers on a case-by-case basis.
On Wednesday, the NCAA said that while it is not certain whether the preliminary injunction issued by the judge will remain in effect during the 2024-25 season, athletes who transfer again during or after the current academic year will not be subject to the requirement that They stay out for a year. However, transfer window notification rules must be followed.
The transfer window for men's and women's basketball runs from March 18 to May 1.
The NCAA also said athletes would “remain subject to all other existing eligibility laws and any eligibility standards required for competition that may be developed or modified for the 2024-25 academic year.”
The lawsuit is scheduled for a jury trial in June 2025 in Wheeling, West Virginia.
