New NCAA Vice President Kevin Lennon Eyes Transfer Rules

Earlier this month, Kevin Lennon began his tenure as the NCAA Vice President of Division I Governance. It’s a pretty snazzy title for the former assistant commissioner of the old Southwestern Athletic Conference. Lennon has been around the block a time or few, logging over 30 years of service to the NCAA.

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Now, as he settles into his new role, Lennon has identified his first undertaking — fixing what he believes to be a broken transfer system, especially within the culture of Division I college basketball.

There is no arguing that college basketball players are transferring at an all-time rate of frequency. NCAA research suggests that close to 40% of Division I players are leaving their initial program before the end of their second year (90% of these transfers are due to “athletic reasons” as described by the student). Lennon wants to face the challenge of stopping this trend.

Legislating transfer rules for student-athletes has always been tricky. While it is seemingly unfair to penalize student-athletes for making decisions regarding their education that other students are not subjected to, most people are aware of the necessity of these restrictions. Transfer rules prohibit college sports from turning into the Wild West where recruiting never ends and players are able to hold their teams hostage with the threat of transferring to another school (or worse, to a rival school).

However, the business of amateur athletics continues to operate on an uncomfortable slant in the favor of coaches and administrators. Basketball coaches are able to take jobs on a whim, leaving players who have committed to a program expecting to play for a certain coach left in a bind. Shaka Smart’s hiring at the University of Texas came dangerously close to leaving a pair of top 100 recruits (Telvin Mack and Kenny Williams) tied to a school without the coach that recruited them.

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Fortunately, the players were able to decommit before signing a letter of intent. If the players would have signed, they would have been stuck at VCU (unless granted a release), even after Smart walked and headed to Texas (Side Note: This is one of the many reasons why signing a letter of intent has become an archaic process for many top recruits).

Lennon’s eye has specifically turned to the growing trend of graduate transfers in college basketball. The current rule allows athletes that have completed an undergraduate degree with eligbility remaining to transfer to another school without penalty. Due to the increase in players who are utilizing the “redshirt” provision, the graduate transfer has created a pseudo free agency pool at the end of each college basketball season.

All-Ivy player Shonn Miller (going to UConn), Charlotte center Mike Thorne (going to Illinois), and Villanova point guard Dylan Ennis (undecided) were three of this off-season’s most prominent “free agents” created by the current system. Thorne, who was previously playing at Charlotte, was suddenly being courted by the likes of Kentucky and Kansas. Miller is expected to be an x-factor for the Huskies. Ennis could have had the opportunity to be the starting point guard for the defending national champions at Duke. The graduate transfer is a unique commodity due to it being one of the few ways to immediately inject senior leadership and maturity into a roster.

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Lennon has found fault with the current system, though. Most graduate transfers are entering graduate classes with no intention of receiving a master’s degree. In most cases, student-athletes are simply enrolling in order to exhaust their eligibility.

Granted, it is reasonable to think that these students could return to finish the programs at a later time, and some students do finish programs while under scholarship. The reality of the situation is that most of this scholarship money does not lead to students obtaining a degree. Lennon’s displeasure with this system proves, somewhat ironically, that the NCAA does not appreciate being used by its student-athletes.

It would be a stretch to say that this system is broken. Some coaches such as Memphis head man Josh Pastner have spoke of the graduate transfer option as a “privilege” that graduates should be privy to (it should also be noted that Pastner just landed a top notch point guard due to the current grad transfer rule). However, the ineffectiveness of the rule in terms of graduate students obtaining degrees is a solid focal point for Lennon’s ire.

While Lennon isn’t sure what he plans to do to rectify the “issue” that he’s pinpointed, he expects changes to the current rules to take place within the next year. Here’s hoping that he considers a few of these amateur level suggestions on adding some balance to amateur athletics.

Partner with the NBA and ABOLISH THE ONE-AND-DONE STUDENT-ATHLETE. This makes a mockery of college sports. Encourage these players to play in the D-League or overseas instead. Scholarships should go to students that have the intention of graduating from college. Make scholarships a “2+1+1” commitment. If a student plays one year of college basketball, they must wait an extra year before entering the NBA Draft.
If a head coach leaves a school to accept another job opportunity, allow any player recruited during that coach’s tenure to be able to transfer without penalty.
Award a fifth year of eligibility to a student who signs a letter of intent, graduates in four years or less, and wishes to continue as a graduate student at his/her initial institution. Call it a “loyalty provision” for students that honor their letter of intent.

That’s my two cents that I am sure will not be considered, but it will be interesting to see how Vice-President Lennon plans to alter the landscape of college basketball in the very near future.

Next: Player Movement Central

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