USIAA Transfer Rules:
General Rules:
Eligibility Rules - All student-athletes are eligible for a transfer if:
Permission to contact:
Transfer Rules:
Notification-of-transfer Windows:
Right to a hearing:
Intra-sub regional transfer rule:
Academic Information Needed to Transfer:
- All USIAA students can only transfer ONCE unless any of the of the following requirements are met:
a) The athlete has graduated from a 2-year institution (i.e. D4) with an AA degree.
b) The athlete has graduated from another 4-year institution with an BA/BS degree.
c) If the coach that recruited them leaves the institution.
d) the coach of their team kicks them off the team for any combination of reason(s) other than academic and/or disciplinary problems.
e) Any combination of reason(s) related to the student-athletes' physical or mental well-being (alongside proper medical documentation that doesn't violate HIPPA regulations).
f) Exigent (i.e. pressing/demanding) circumstances outside the student-athlete's control (e.g. physical or sexual assault or discrimination based on a protected class).
g) Assertions involving diagnosed education impacting disabilities - A student-athlete who wants to transfer must first be accepted through the new school’s admission process.
- The new school may or may not be able to match financial aid offered by the student-athlete’s original school.
- Student-athletes who transfer must sit out of competition for one year, unless any of the following requirements are met:
a) The athlete has a GPA of at least 3.0.
b) The athlete has graduated from a division 4 / 2-year institution with an AA degree.
c) The athlete has graduated from another 4-year institution with an BA/BS degree.
d) If the coach that recruited them leaves the institution.
e) However, all transfer students that have to sit out for a year are still eligible to play for the JV team (if applicable). - All student athletes who feel that they might not be able to perform academically at their institution may file for academic redshirt.
- If they fail to perform to the minimum standards required by the USIAA, they must either leave the institution on their own or follow the procedures necessary in order to become eligible for USIAA competition.
- If they do manage to perform at least to the minimum standards required by the USIAA but wish to transfer, they may transfer to another institution and be immediately eligible to play if the institution they wish to play at is at a lower level than their current institution:
a) However, they may transfer to another institution but must sit out for the first game to be eligible to play if the institution they wish to play at is at a higher or is at the same level than their current institution. - All programs must favor students transferring from other universities that have studied a major/minor sponsored by the university.
- All USIAA students wanting to transfer must declare their intention to transfer before the current season starts so the team can decide whether or not to play them or give their playing time to someone who'll be around next season.
- All USIAA athletes cannot transfer to where their head coaches moved to, if their head coach moved to another institution.
- No USIAA athlete can enter the Transfer Portal until December 1st (for fall sports) or May 1st (for winter & spring sports).
Eligibility Rules - All student-athletes are eligible for a transfer if:
- They were officially enrolled full-time for a regular term (fall or spring semester, fall, winter, or spring quarter) and present at the school on the first day of classes for that term.
- They reported for a regular squad practice prior to the start of classes.
- They participated in practice or competed even if you were not enrolled full-time.
- They attended a class while enrolled full-time, even if they were only provisionally admitted and later denied admission.
- They attended a night school enrolled full-time if the night school has the same terms as the institution’s day school and considers you to be a regular full-time student.
- They attended a branch school while enrolled full-time, if either (1) The branch school has varsity intercollegiate athletics and they do not transfer to the main campus or (2) They attended another college prior to attending the branch campus.
- They received financial aid from the school to attend summer school prior to starting classes, unless they were denied admissions.
Permission to contact:
- A student-athlete attending another USIAA institution may not have contact with a coach at another school to discuss a transfer until the other institution grants written permission (must be sent/received from the compliance office/or designee) for such contact to occur.
- If the request for permission to contact is denied, then no contact or recruiting by any other school is permitted.
- The student-athlete may still choose transfer to another school and could join the team upon enrollment.
- However, because of the denial of permission to contact, the student-athlete in this case would not be permitted to receive any athletics aid from the other school until he or she has attended their first school for at least a full academic year.
- All USIAA coaches may limit the schools that a student-athlete can contact; the required max for all sub-regional schools is 3.
Transfer Rules:
- In most cases, a student-athlete who transfers from one USIAA institution to another is permitted to practice and receive athletics aid immediately at the second institution.
- As a general rule, the transfer student is required to serve an "academic year-in-residence" at the second institution prior to competing. However, several exceptions to the transfer rule exist that enable a student-athlete to be immediately eligible for competition at the second institution.
- The most commonly used exception is known as the "one-time transfer exception." As the name suggests, this exception allows a student-athlete to transfer from one USIAA institution to another on one occasion and be immediately eligible for competition.
- Certain conditions must be met to use this exception, including: (1) the student-athlete must have been in good academic standing and academically eligible for competition at the previous institution; (2) the previous institution must grant the student-athlete written permission to use of the exception; and (3) the student-athlete cannot have transferred previously from a four-year institution.
- Note: In Division 1, the one-time transfer exception is not available if the student-athlete wishes to participate in basketball, men's ice hockey or football at the second institution.
- Note: All student-athletes may transfer from one branch of a multi-branch campus to another and be immediately eligible to play if they finish their freshman/redshirt freshman academic year.
Notification-of-transfer Windows:
- Fall sports: a 45-day window beginning the day after championships selections are made in their sport, or May 1-15.
- Winter sports: a 60-day window beginning the day after championships selections are made in the sport.
- Spring sports: Dec. 1-15, or a 45-day window beginning the day after championship selections are made in the sport.
- Year-Round sports: Dec. 1-15, May 1-15, or a 45-day window beginning the day after championship selections are made in the sport
- Reasonable accommodations will be made for participants in their respective sport's championship games.
- Exceptions for student-athletes who experience head coach changes or have athletics aid reduced, canceled or not renewed (not including NIL) will also be made.
Right to a hearing:
- Whenever a request for permission to contact or permission to use the one-time transfer exception is denied, the institution denying the request must notify the student-athlete in writing of the right to request a hearing to contest the denial.
- The committee conducting such hearings must be comprised entirely of individuals who work outside of the athletics department.
Intra-sub regional transfer rule:
- A student-athlete who transfers directly from one conference/regional institution to another must serve a year-in-residence at the second institution before competing.
- In addition, the student-athlete is charged with using a season of competition during that year and may not receive athletics aid during that year.
Academic Information Needed to Transfer:
- A transfer from a four-year college will need to compile just as much academic information as a transfer from a junior college. Any students trying to be recruited as transfers must remember that it takes additional time to evaluate a transfer’s eligibility, to get them admitted to school, and to certify them to play.
- To make sure they do not add to the delay, students should have the following ready:
a) Official transcripts
b) Any Unofficial transcripts
c) Current schedule
d) High school information.
e) Any information about their athletic eligibility.