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Summary of 2023 NCAA Convention Rule Changes

The annual NCAA Convention was recently held in San Antonio The following is a summary of the official rule changes or resolutions in each Division that will have the most direct impact on student-athletes.

NCAA Division I Changes

Transfer Waiver Guidelines Change For 4-4-4 transfer athletes who transfer a second time to a Division I university as an undergraduate:

When an athlete transfers to their third university (4-4-4 transfer) and wants to be eligible in their first year, they can no longer use the following arguments in a waiver application:

  • No Participation Opportunity
  • Financial Hardship
  • Misinformation From a Staff Member

The NCAA Division I Council voted unanimously that going forward, each waiver request will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

One of the following criteria must be satisfied to receive a waiver:

  • A demonstrated physical injury or illness or mental health condition that necessitated the student’s transfer (supporting documentation, care plans and proximity of the student’s support system will be considered), or
  • Exigent circumstances that clearly necessitate a student-athlete’s immediate departure from the previous school (e.g., physical assault or abuse, sexual assault) unrelated to the student-athlete’s athletics participation.”

Transfer Exceptions are not the same as Transfer Waivers and will still be available.

The most common Transfer Exception for a 4-4-4 transfer to be eligible in their first year at a Division I university is the Non-Scholarship or Non-Recruited Transfer Exception.

Student-athletes who qualify to use one of the Transfer Exceptions (other than the One-Time Transfer Exception), will now be allowed to enter the Transfer Portal at any time instead of having to wait for the Transfer Portal schedule for their sport.

Softball Athletes – Midyear Transfer Rule Change

A midyear transfer to a Division I softball program – whether from a two-year or four-year college – will no longer be immediately eligible in their first softball season unless they are transferring as a postgraduate student.

This rule takes effect on August 1 of this year and will impact the 2024 softball season.

NCAA Division II

Effective August 1, 2023, NCAA Division II Football student-athletes will be allowed to participate in up to three games during their initial year of enrollment at a Division II institution without being charged with one of their four seasons of playing eligibility.

In addition, Division II football teams will be permitted to scrimmage against another four-year college team as one of the three permissible scrimmage sessions that are allowed during Spring practice.

Student-athletes participating in this scrimmage will not trigger the use of a season of playing eligibility AS LONG AS the athlete was academically eligible during the preceding Fall term.

NCAA Division III

A resolution was approved (but not an actual rule change at this time) directing Division III governing committees to work with member schools and conferences to “…establish a hardship waiver process specific for mental health…”

The intention of this resolution is to establish a hardship waiver process for Mental Health that is separate from that of a Physical Injury Waiver.

The formal resolution also noted that the requirement for a Mental Health Hardship Waiver should allow for appropriate flexibility in supporting documentation since individuals “…suffering with a mental health condition often do not seek immediate support.”

Do You Have Questions?

If you have questions about these changes or any other questions about specific issues that impact you or your athlete regarding college athletics eligibility, scholarships, waivers or transfers, we invite you to schedule a confidential consult by calling us at 913-766-1235 or sending an email to rick@informedathlete.com.

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NCAA Division I Eliminates “No Participation Opportunity” Argument for Transfer Waivers

The NCAA Division I is no longer accepting the argument of “No Participation Opportunity” as the basis for waiver relief. This means an athlete will be required to sit out their first year at a new university if they can’t benefit from a Transfer Exception.

Limited waiver opportunities may still be available. However, robust documentation of the circumstances will be required.

Schedule a Waivers and Appeals Consult online if you have questions and want to discuss your athlete’s situation and possible opportunities for a transfer exception.

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How Can College Athletes Transfer Multiple Times With No Issues?

That’s a question I’m frequently asked. It can be surprising how many times some athletes transfer from one school to another.

When an athlete can’t use the One-Time Transfer Exception to be immediately eligible at a new school, how are they able to be eligible as a multiple time transfer?

While we don’t know the specific circumstances of each athlete’s situation that you might hear or read about, here are some possible explanations as to how they may be able to transfer multiple times and not be required to serve a “year in residence” at their new university.

  • Second transfer could be the use of the Non-Scholarship Transfer Exception.
  • Second (or third) transfer could be using the “No Participation Opportunity” Waiver to be eligible at the next college.
  • 2nd or 3rd transfer could be transferring as a grad student and getting a waiver to be eligible as a grad transfer if they are pursuing a degree that wasn’t offered at their previous college.
  • Any of the above could also have been a possible option AFTER a 4-2-4 transfer from the first four-year college to a JUCO then back to another four-year college and then possibly using any of the options listed above.

Do You Need Advice?

If your athlete is thinking about a transfer, whether from one four-year college to another or from a junior college, we can provide a confidential consultation to explain the steps, rules and academic requirements to be eligible at the new college. Schedule a confidential Transfer Consultation online, contact us at rick@informedathlete.com or call our office at 913-766-1235.

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Medical Hardship Waivers – The Importance of Documentation

A 2021 study by the NCAA revealed that 30% of student-athletes surveyed were extremely overwhelmed with 25% feeling mentally exhausted. Depression symptoms are considerably higher with college athletes than within the overall student population as a whole.

In the past few months, we’ve had a significant increase in calls asking whether a student-athlete might qualify for a Medical Hardship Waiver due to mental health issues.

Medical Hardship Waivers ARE granted for mental health issues. However, as with all waivers, medical documentation is extremely important!

Complicating this is the fact that most student-athletes find it difficult to share their mental health struggles with anyone – including their coach, a medical professional and often times, even their family.

Our goal with this article is to encourage student-athletes who are struggling to reach out to their coach, team doctor, academic advisor and/or their parents to help them connect with a licensed counselor or therapist who can help provide tools and strategies to navigate through a difficult time.

We often suggest to athletes or parents who are requesting a waiver for mental health reasons that they need to think of the situation as if it were a physical injury. With a physical injury, an athlete needs medical documentation of a “season-ending” injury from the actual time of the initial diagnosis, such as for a torn ACL or the need for “Tommy John” surgery.

The documentation needed for a mental health waiver is no different. If an athlete didn’t seek out a therapist during the actual time that they were dealing with their mental health issues, or if the therapist didn’t document the dates and some notes of the discussions that the athlete had with their therapist, it will be very difficult for an athlete to have their mental health waiver approved.

Through the years, I’ve consulted with many parents of student-athletes who have qualified and received a medical hardship waiver and come through it to achieve even higher levels of success on the field and in the classroom than before.

If you have questions regarding your student-athlete’s specific situation and want to see if they might qualify for a Medical Hardship Waiver or another type of waiver, schedule a confidential Waivers and Appeals Consult online, send an email rick@informedathlete.com or call our office at 913-766-1235.

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Does Your Student-Athlete Qualify for a Medical Hardship Waiver?

It is possible for a student-athlete to receive a Medical Hardship Waiver to get their season of competition “over again” when:

  • A student-athlete has competed for their NCAA DI, NCAA DII, NAIA, or Juco college team during the season but then are injured or become ill to the point that they won’t be able to compete any more during the season,
  • An NCAA Division III student-athlete has competed or continued practicing with their team after the first game of the season but then are injured or become ill to the point that they won’t be able to compete any more during the season,

If your student-athlete has had a significant injury or illness during this Fall 2022 season and you’re wondering about the possibility of a Medical Hardship Waiver, it’s important to keep in mind that there are specific conditions and restrictions that apply for these types of waivers, and they vary between the NCAA, NAIA and JUCO rules.

NCAA guidelines and requirements for such a medical waiver can even differ between Division I, Division II, and Division lII programs.

In general terms, to qualify for a Medical Hardship Waiver, an athlete can’t participate in more than 30% of the number of games or “dates of competition” in their regular season and can’t appear in a game after the midpoint of their season.

However, an athlete or family should not assume that the method of calculation for the “midpoint of the season” is the same for each college level for a team sport compared with an individual sport.

The most important factor when considering whether your athlete will qualify for a Medical Hardship Waiver is the supporting medical documentation to verify that the injury or illness is “season ending” in its severity.

  • The medical documentation is especially important if an athlete is hoping to receive a Medical Hardship Waiver for mental health concerns.
  • That’s because most athletes don’t want to share with anybody – their coach, their athletic department or even a medical professional – that they have been dealing with mental health issues.

Do You Wonder if Your Student-Athlete Might Qualify for a Medical Hardship Waiver?

To discuss your athlete’s specific situation in a confidential consultation to see if they might qualify for a Medical Hardship Waiver (or for other types of Waivers such as for a family illness or a financial hardship), schedule a Waivers and Appeals Consult online, e-mail rick@informedathlete.com or call our office at 913-766-1235.

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NCAA Division I Extension Waiver – Does Your Student-Athlete Qualify?

The opportunity for an NCAA Division I athlete to receive an Extension Waiver for a possible 6th year on their eligibility “clock” has been expanded.

Prior to this recent change, there were two ways for a Division I athlete to have their eligibility clock extended to a 6th year (Pandemic-related rulings aside).

  • The athlete must have missed two different seasons of competition due to documented circumstances outside of the control of the athlete and also outside of the control of the coach and athletic department; OR
  • The athlete must have been redshirted by their coach during their first year of full-time college enrollment (at a two-year or four-year college) and must have missed one other season due to documented circumstances outside their control.

With this recent change, a Division I athlete can qualify for a 6th year if:

  • They were redshirted during ANY year of their college enrollment and then missed one other season due to documented circumstances outside their control and outside the control of the coach and athletic department.

Do You Have Questions?

If you are wondering whether your athlete may qualify for an Extension of Eligibility Waiver under this recent NCAA rule change, schedule a confidential Waivers and Appeals Consultation online.

You can also contact us at rick@informedathlete.com or call our office at 913-766-1235 for more information regarding our consultation services.

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NCAA Medical Hardship/Mental Health Waivers – What You Should Know!

We’ve been receiving a number of inquiries this summer asking whether an athlete can qualify for a Waiver for Mental Health issues for limited playing time or inability to finish their season due to mental health concerns.

Regardless of whether an athlete is seeking a hardship waiver due to mental health concerns, an illness or for a physical injury, the three main rules and requirements are basically the same across all NCAA (or junior college) divisions.

  • Participation in no more than 30 percent of contests or dates of competition in an athlete’s sport in NCAA Division I, NCAA DII or junior college. (33 percent in NCAA Division III).
  • An athlete can’t have appeared in a game after the half-way point of the season.
  • Athlete must have incurred an injury or illness before the half-way point of the season and have documentation from a physician (or mental health licensed professional) that the athlete is unable to participate any further in their season due to the injury or illness. Physician Documentation must have been recorded at the time of the illness or injury prior to the start of the second half of the season.

Most athletes who are dealing with mental health issues are reluctant to share with anyone including their coach, a medical professional or their family.

However, the medical documentation is especially important if an athlete is hoping to receive a Medical Hardship Waiver for mental health concerns.

To discuss your athlete’s specific situation in a confidential consultation to see if they might qualify for a Medical Hardship Waiver (or for other types of Waivers such as for a family illness or a financial hardship), schedule a Waivers and Appeals Consult online, email rick@informedathlete.com or call our office at 913-766-1235.

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NCAA 2022 Convention Topics of Interest Affecting DI, DII, and DIII Schools

The annual NCAA Convention was held recently in Indianapolis. While much of the publicity over the last few months regarding the Convention was regarding the work of the Constitution Committee to propose a new draft of the NCAA Constitution, I doubt that work will really impact the day-to-day life of NCAA student-athletes – at least not in the near future.

Here’s a brief rundown of some topics of interest for NCAA DI, NCAA DII, and NCAA DIII.

NCAA DI

For women’s basketball, recruiting rules were revised in several different topic areas, including telephone calls, official visits and the recruiting calendar. Due to the number of changes, contact us directly if you desire information regarding those changes.

In men’s basketball, the number of recruiting-person days (number of total days the men’s coaching staff could be off-campus recruiting) was reduced from 130 to 100. Two coaches recruiting on the same day equals two recruiting-person days.

For both men’s and women’s basketball, a proposal to allow student-athletes to appear in up to four regular season games without being charged with the use of a season of competition was defeated.

Football spring practice opportunities for full contact practice sessions will be reduced. They won’t be allowed on consecutive days during spring practice and won’t be allowed for more than 75 minutes in any practice session (other than a scrimmage).

New guidelines for transfer waivers that were set to go into effect in 2022 will be delayed until January 2023. This means that athletes transferring to a Division I university who need a waiver to be ruled eligible will have a wider range of acceptable reasons and circumstances that can be cited as a factor in the waiver decision as compared to the new waiver guidelines.

Those guidelines – which are now postponed a year – basically limit acceptable waiver reasons as:

  • An athlete has a diagnosed learning disability which was not sufficiently supported at the previous university OR
  • An athlete has faced a “real and imminent health and safety” threat at the previous university.

NCAA DII

The Division II One-Time Transfer Exception was changed to more closely align with the Division I One-Time Transfer Exception. The key aspects of the new Division II rule are:

  • The school from which an athlete is transferring will not have the opportunity to object to the athlete’s transfer.
  • Athletes will be required to view an educational video or online module regarding the transfer rules before their name will be entered into the Transfer Portal.
  • Athletes will be required to provide written transfer notification to their school by June 15 to have the chance to be eligible during the upcoming academic year.
  • A transferring athlete and the head coach at the new school to which they are transferring will be required to certify that they had no direct or indirect contact regarding a transfer prior to the student-athlete entering the Transfer Portal.

NCAA DIII

The proposal which would have had the most direct impact on Division III student-athletes was not voted on, but instead was referred to the Division III Interpretations and Legislative Committee for additional analysis and consideration.

If it had been approved at the Convention, it would have allowed Division III student-athletes to participate in a full season of practice with their team and still claim a “redshirt season” if the athlete did not compete in any games against another university.

As a result, the current Division III rule is still in effect. That rule charges a student-athlete with a “season of participation” even if they only practice with their team beyond the first game of the season but even if they don’t appear in a game against another opponent.

 

If you have questions about any actions taken at the NCAA Convention, contact us directly via e-mail at rick@informedathlete.com or by calling 913-766-1235.

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Situations Where Student-Athletes Might Qualify for a Waiver or Appeal

Many times, student-athletes don’t realize that they qualify for waivers or appeals that could possibly extend their eligibility, rule them immediately eligible for competition, or allow for a scholarship or appeal hearing.

A few of the situations where a waiver or appeal might apply include:

  • The student-athlete has been injured in competition, hurt in an accident or had an illness that affects their ability to compete.
  • A coach or athletic department has cancelled a student-athlete’s scholarship for “violating team rules.”
  • A student-athlete has extenuating circumstances including illness or death of family and they need to take a break from competition.
  • A student-athlete is denied eligibility and there are extenuating circumstances.

Are You Wondering if Your Student-Athlete Qualifies for a Waiver or Appeal?

During a confidential Waivers & Appeals Consult, Rick will ask questions to determine if the student-athlete qualifies for either and then will discuss available options and best set of “next steps.”

ALL information shared is private and confidential – nothing is shared with schools, coaches, etc. unless you specifically ask Rick to contact someone for info on your behalf.

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NCAA DI Football Increases Scholarship Limit

The NCAA Division I Council has approved a temporary one-year waiver to increase the annual scholarship signing limit for Football only.

The Chair of the Football Oversight Committee stated that this decision was made because “…schools should have temporary flexibility to help address possible roster depletion due to transfers.”

The one-year waiver will permit Division I football programs to sign up to 7 more recruits than the normal standard limit (25 for FBS schools and 30 for FCS schools) to REPLACE current team members who transfer out of the program after this current semester.

    • For example, if four football players transfer out from a Division I FBS program at the end of this semester, that program will be permitted to sign up to 29 incoming recruits rather than the normal annual limit of 25 signees.
    • The overall total scholarship limits for Division I football programs will remain the same, however. Those limits are 85 for FBS football programs and 63 scholarship equivalencies for FCS programs.
    • D1 schools will be able to sign replacements for transfers who depart their school on or after the last day of the school’s Fall term or Dec. 15th, whichever is earlier.

December 15th is the first day of the early National Letter of Intent signing period for Division I football programs.

If you have questions about the scholarship limits or rules in football or any other sport, contact us at 913-766-1235 or write to rick@informedathlete.com.

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