Scott Rosner, Director of the M.S. in Sports Management program, wrote a guest column for Sportico, a high-quality digital content company that provides sports industry breaking news, data, information, and strategy.
Rosner wrote about the transfer guidelines of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In 2018, the NCAA established a transfer portal, a compliance system utilized to manage and facilitate the process for student athletes seeking to transfer between member institutions. On May 1, the NCAA’s transfer portal was closed for all fall/winter sports in the 2022–2023 school year.
The transfer portal provides valuable data and insight into the reasons student athletes transfer. Playing time issues, coaching changes, and conflicts are a few of the many reasons why student athletes transfer. Recently, however, many student athletes are citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the cause of their transfer. Rosner raises the issue of the potential cost of these increasing transfers on graduation rates. His column reveals that academics is one of the few reasons why athletes enter the transfer portal. The graduation rates for students transferring between four-year institutions are lower than those who stay at the same institution.
“In addition to the decreased focus on academics in favor of athletics, the loss of credits during the transfer process, a poor fit between the student’s academic ability and interests and the institutional offerings, the level and quality of academic advising and support, as well as differences and difficulty in assimilating to a new campus culture are all challenges faced by those who transfer,” Rosner explains. While academics may not be considered by those who contemplate entering the transfer portal, Rosner recommends that it should be.
To read Scott Rosner’s column for Sportico, click here. Learn more about the Sports Management program.
