11/11/2026 12:37:00
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11/11 12:00 CST NCAA warns multiple transfers tied to sharply lower graduation
rates in college football
NCAA warns multiple transfers tied to sharply lower graduation rates in college
football
By EDDIE PELLS
AP National Writer
The NCAA released data Wednesday that showed the graduation rate for a set of
Bowl Subdivision football players who transferred more than once was 27% lower
than those who stayed put their entire career, numbers it portrayed as a
"warning sign" in the ongoing legal wrangling over eligibility and player
movement.
The NCAA provided the data to The Associated Press during a season in which it
is being sued around the country by players seeking a fifth year of
eligibility, with that fifth year almost always involving a transfer. Courts
have ruled against the NCAA's new elibility rules in multiple cases.
The statistics analyzed the six-year graduation rate --- considered on time
when redshirts and other factors were weighed in --- for around 36,000 athletes
who enrolled in college in the 2018-19 school year. Black athletes across all
sports saw the most precipitous decline --- from an 82% graduation rate with no
transfers, to 74% with one and 62% with more than one.
The data showed that regardless of race, gender or sport, multiple transfers
typically had graduation rates 10 percentage points lower than those who
transferred once and 15 to 20 percentage points lower than peers who never
transferred.
"This data should serve as a flashing red warning sign that the court-imposed
transfer rules are resulting in worse academic outcomes for many
student-athletes," NCAA President Charlie Baker said. "But thankfully Congress
is closer than ever to passing a bill to reverse this trend."
The Protect College Sports Act, which faces an uncertain future in the House,
would curtail future eligibility lawsuits against the NCAA, though the current
legal actions would not be impacted.
Among other data provided by the NCAA:
--- While the FBS players saw a 28% decline in the graduation rate between
non-transfers and multiple transfers, the number was 21% for players in the
smaller-school Championship Subdivision.
--- In women's basketball, the rate fell from 90% for non-transfers to 77% for
multiple transfers.
--- Men's basketball actually saw an uptick in graduation rates for
non-transfers (74%) to those who transfer once (80%). Often, those transfers
play their final year at a different college after earning their degree at the
original school. But the number drops to 67% for multiple transfers.
--- The graduation gap for Black athletes who didn't change schools and those
with multiple transfers was 20%, while for white athletes it was 14%.
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