June 1, 2022
by Mike McMahon/Staff Writer (@MikeMcMahonCHN)
Division I athletics, including college hockey, could look very different in the future, as ramifications continue from the NCAA’s loss in the Alston case in the Supreme Court last year.
According to several sources, college hockey coaches were presented with potential changes forthcoming from the NCAA’s Transformation Committee last month in Naples as part of the annual AHCA Convention. The fallout from this lawsuit will likely result in sweeping changes to all of college athletics, not just college hockey.
“The toothpaste is already out of the tube,” said one coach, echoing the sentiment of pretty much everyone. “It’s changing. It’s a matter of when all of this happens as opposed to if it will happen. There’s no going back.”
Essentially, the NCAA has lost almost every case it’s ever had to defend in court regarding its amateurism rules. What may have started out with good intentions — to rein in payments, limit transferring, and maintain some semblance of fairness and competitive balance — are quickly going out the window.
As a result, the NCAA has to reshape what it is, and what its role will be, long term.
Some the bigger changes which could come out of the transformation committee, including:
(1) Transfer Portal Windows
This one is interesting, because it would actually limit student-athletes. The NCAA could attempt to install transfer windows, but if it’s sued about it, there’s legal precedence that suggests it would lose the case.
Right now, players must enter the portal by May 1 if they want to be eligible for the following season. However, there are caveats. If a player is cut, or if there is a coaching change after the May 1 deadline, then the player can still transfer freely.
The May 1 deadline is only to enter the portal. Players can technically commit to a school up until enrollment closes for the fall semester.
Coaches in Naples discussed a window that opens on March 15 and closes on May 1.
(2) Unlimited Transfers
Currently, players can transfer one time without penalty (the one-time transfer rule, which came into existence last year). The transformation committee has suggested that moving forward, players may be allowed to transfer an unlimited number of times without penalty.
However, right now players can technically transfer twice without penalty, in certain cases. First, they can use the one-time…
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