Court rules that 2nd-time transfers can play, for now
A federal judge in West Virginia issued a 14-day temporary restraining order Wednesday against the NCAA, allowing two-time transfers to play immediately, at least for now.
West Virginia and six other states had sued the NCAA, arguing that the rule requiring a waiver for two-time transfers to play immediately at their new schools violated the Sherman Anti-trust Act. U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey in northern West Virginia issued the TRO, and set an additional hearing on the matter for Dec. 27.
The NCAA issued a statement Wednesday afternoon saying it would not challenge the ruling, and would notify schools as such. That means that any second-time undergraduate transfer who was previously forced to sit out will be able to play immediately.
The NCAA adopted a rule in 2021 allowing for a one-time transfer exception for undergraduates, meaning any athlete could transfer once and play immediately without sitting out a year. Second-time transfers were required to be graduates or receive an NCAA waiver in order to play immediately at a third school.
It’s unclear how many athletes Wednesday’s ruling applies to, though West Virginia basketball player RaeQuan Battle and Southern Miss basketball player Andre Cubelo are at least two of them. It’s possible any number of college football players will enter the transfer portal for a second time within the next two weeks in order to advantage of the ruling.