D-1 Transfer rules

[UCONN FAN]

Re: D-1 Transfer rules

Hux ??....Huh ?.....Where/how did he enter into this conversation.

OOPS!!!!!!!! My bad........

[HockeyEast33]

Re: D-1 Transfer rules

Hux sound advice. A very good friend of ours (ice) almost found out the hard way about the rules of transferring. When Penn State was starting up he made a phone call unbeknownst to his daughter about availability at her position. The Penn State coach (or assistant) informed him that he was bound by NCAA rules to inform her current coach and AD of the inquisition. He immediately went into panic mode was able to assure them he was acting on his own and not on his daughters behalf. Of course there are ways around the rules when reaching out to school. A former coach or anybody who has the intended coach's ear could make an "informal inquiry" on the players behalf.

Most things in life get done by way of "informal inquiry".... transfers aren't any different. Most players have an option for the informal inquiry if they want to make it - old prep/high school coach, old club hockey coach, etc. "I was talking to Player X last week and she doesn't seem very happy at Whatsamatter U, how are things going with you?". Yeah - I'm sure it never happens.....

Hard to imagine a kid telling their school "I want to shop around" when they have abslutely no idea if there might be a spot for them anywhere else - who would advise that, NCAA rules or not!!??? Most kids in this situation are probably riding the pine, so it is not like another school is going to drop some other kid for them on the spur of the moment. And the next season team is already set by April (after the season) - they would have to luck into a spot somewhere else.

Even at the prep school level, I know of parents/kids who expressed interest in moving to another prep school, NAHA or the Shamrocks mid-season and they ended up suddenly having an attitude problem and rarely seeing the ice again even though they were clearly in the top half or higher of the players on the team. One prep school coach I know of at least had the decency to play the kid against the two schools the player wanted to transfer to, but sat her the rest of the games.

[OnMAA]

Re: D-1 Transfer rules

Most kids in this situation are probably riding the pine.

In those cases, there is not a lot lost by talking to the school first. Player is already riding the pine, so what is there to lose in that case by talking to the compliance officer. IMHO, if a player is riding the pine, for whatever reason, the first option of the player should be to sit down with the coach and ask him/her what it would take to get into the lineup. If it is a coach willing to invest time in the player (and they should, as they recruited them), that should be option A. If for some reason that does not work out, or coach is not willing to work with the player, then on to the compliance office it is. JMO.

[HockeyEast33]

Re: D-1 Transfer rules

In those cases, there is not a lot lost by talking to the school first. Player is already riding the pine, so what is there to lose in that case by talking to the compliance officer.

A scholarship.....and that's a lot to lose. You're coming from the Ivy League perspective, where a player is in the school no matter what and continues to get their need based financial aid regardless of their athletic participation. In that case, if you're bench bound and unhappy, there is little to nothing lost by having the conversation. That situation doesn't apply to the majority of other D1 players who are on some sort of athletics based financial aid. They have a LOT to lose if that financial aid goes away. That's unlikely if they continue to put in their time and ride the pine, but don't think that coaches with scholarship kids riding the bench aren't aware that they could use that money to potentially get another player that might contribute more and if a player gives them a legitimate reason to yank the money - and asking to investigate trasferring falls into that category - then they'll be all over that.

[Twolinepass]

Re: D-1 Transfer rules

Okay, so what about transfers from DI to DIII? There are always several of those each year.
And what about transfers from DIII to DI? Does that ever happen? Is there a sit out rule? Can DI coaches recruit DIII players?

[HockeyEast33]

Re: D-1 Transfer rules

Okay, so what about transfers from DI to DIII? There are always several of those each year.
And what about transfers from DIII to DI? Does that ever happen? Is there a sit out rule? Can DI coaches recruit DIII players?

Players moving from D1 to D3 are eligible immediately upon starting school at the new school. As an example, Ali Vakos moved from UConn to Plattsburgh last Christmas break - played first half of season at UConn and second half of the season at Plattsburgh.

Kids moving from D3 to D1 are eligible upon starting school at the new school within the constraints of the league rules, which may vary, and as long as they didn't drop from D1 to D3 recently (same season transfers are probably subject to a release from their current schools). As an example, Rebecca Fleming went from Holy Cross (D3 womens hockey but D1 school) to UConn over the past off-season. Generally, I don't think that D1 coaches recruit from D3 schools, but accept inquiries.