NCAA Transfer Travesty

Major college coach to current player:

"Son, we at the university would like to express our gratitude to you, for choosing to play at our school. In the year you have been with us, you have truly become part of our family. We have enjoyed every minute you have been here. And we have developed many fond memories that will be cherished for many years to come. I remember when we recruited you, we promised your Mom we would take care of you for four years. I told her, you would be in good hands with us. I can still see the proud look on her face when I told her personally, that you would leave us with a college degree from one of this country’s most respected institutions of higher learning. And your Dad sure did smile, when I let him know that you were a lock to make it to The League….as long as you received the tutelage that we could give you.

However, over the course of this past year, it has come to our attention that you are just not as good a ballplayer as we originally thought you were. You never developed your left hand the way we hoped you would. Your upper body strength is still on the weak side. And that outside shot? We both know it is still way too flat to get past those 6'4" guards we see in our conference.

I know you love the university son, and we love you too. But there is this kid we found that wants to play for us. This young man has game, son. You should see him on the fast break. A Gazelle can’t run like him. When he dribbles the ball, I swear it’s never out of his hand long enough to blink. And his first step?  Geez!....I swear there is not a player in the country that will be able to stay in front of him. With him on our team, this university will be able to sell more hats and shirts than them boys over on Tobacco Road. There is no way I don’t get those bonuses in my contract for winning the league and making the Final Four. And our beloved fans? When they hear this phenom is coming here, they’ll be penciling us in as pre-season No. 1. And a lock to win it all. Gonna be good times around here. Smile on every face.

But we are going to need your help, son. Right now, we have no room for him. We don’t have a scholarship to give him. I know you don’t want to spend another year sitting on the bench. You are too much of a competitor to want that. If you transferred to another school, I know you could get playing time. That’s what you want isn’t it? To be able to play? Hell, you have to play to impress those pro scouts. After a couple of years putting up double-doubles somewhere else, them pro scouts will forget all about you not being able to get court time here. You gotta play to get better, right? And you just aren’t going to be playing here. Don’t see it happening. I think it’s best for all concerned if you transfer.

We sure have enjoyed having you as part of our family. If you need any help finding another school to play for, let me know. I’m always here for you. But I gotta run now. Got a press conference starting in a few minutes. Take care of yourself, and keep in touch”.

Current player to Major college coach:  “Thanks coach. Really sorry I let you down.”

Some may say that is just the way it is in big time college athletics. Horse-feathers. It’s that way because the NCAA has only one concern. And it is not the student-athlete. It’s money. If it’s good for the bottom line, it’s good for the NCAA.  When a young athlete signs a contract with a University, the NCAA’s first goal should be protecting that individual. In the instance of student-athletes transferring to other schools, I don’t believe it is the athlete’s choice in most cases. Certainly not at big-time schools. They’re getting pushed out the door to make room for another player that can make the institution and the coach more money.

Transfers are part of the fabric of major college athletics, and always will be. But if the NCAA really cared about the student-athlete in these cases, they should add the following to their by-laws:  If a school has an athlete transfer, the school cannot use that scholarship for one year. The same amount of time an athlete has to sit out, before they are allowed to play for their new school.