Having been a student-athlete in college, I can safely say that at some point, most athletes contemplate whether they made the right decision on which college to continue their playing career and academic future.  It usually happens within the first two years and typically several factors go into why they may want to transfer to another school, but first let’s look at the initial decision.

How do students choose what school to attend?

Historically it has been:

1. Is it close to home where my friends and family can come to watch me play and can I get home easily during breaks?
2. Who is the head coach and my position coach?  Do I have confidence that they will maximize my talents and develop me as a young adult on and off the field?
3. Does the school offer a great education in the areas that interest me?
4. What conference are we playing in and will I have great experiences when I travel to play other schools in the conference?
5. Do they have the commitment to be competitive and the resources (facilities, academic assistance, financial aid/scholarships, coaches/staff, administrative leadership and stability, reputation) to give me a great experience?
6. If I do everything I can to develop, will I have an opportunity to play at the next level?

The world we live in today:

1. How much money are they offering to pay me compared to other schools?
2. Will I get to play immediately, or will I have to sit and wait my turn?
3. Do they have a track record of getting athletes to the next level?  (pro sports)

In years past, athletes felt highly fortunate to be given an opportunity to continue their athletic career while getting an outstanding education…for free or at least subsidized by full or partial scholarships.   And I argue that 98% of athletes still feel that way.  Unfortunately, and specifically in the most visible sports (football and basketball), we have created a system where the minute adversity hits or an offer of more money comes from another school, the athlete jumps ship.  There will be success stories of transfers and for many of them, it is and was the right decision to leave.  (As an fyi…studies have shown that student athletes still transfer at a lower rate than the student body as a whole.)  However, there will be many more that suffer from that decision to include:

1. The loss of credit hours in the transfer which sets them back on the pursuit of a degree.
2. Not finding a place to play and continue their academic career with similar or better financial assistance.
3. An unfulfilled promise of playing time and/or money at the new school, which could lead to another transfer.

Without having the previous rule in place that athletes had to sit out a year after a transfer before becoming eligible to play, there is almost no deterrent to transferring if they can have assurance that they will be going to a better opportunity.  What is being lost in all of this is the impact that transferring multiple times is having on a student’s ability to get a meaningful degree, to set them up for life after sports.  I hope we can get a handle on this epidemic as this will cause much more harm than good.