SEC to Decide on Intraconference Transfers by June

While the NCAA Division I Council has already gotten rid of the requirement for student-athletes who transfer to sit out a year of competition, some conferences still have bylaws that require sitting out if the transfer is to another institution within the same conference unless they’re given a special waiver.

The Southeastern Conference is one such league, but according to the USA Today Network, that could soon change. By June, the SEC could decide to eliminate its bylaw requiring intraconference transfers to sit out a year, joining the likes of the Mid-American Conference and the ACC who have already made similar moves this year.

Commissioner Greg Sankey told the USA Today Network that league leaders are reviewing the bylaw.

"We have established the expectation for a review," Sankey said. "Right now, my personal feelings don’t matter. It’s up to our membership to make a determination. My personal view is, our membership needs to engage in this review and make a decision about how transfers within this conference will be managed moving forward.”

A majority of the conference’s 14 university presidents and chancellors would need to approve of the change before the bylaw could be eliminated. In 2020, those same leaders asked Sankey to provide a blanket waiver for intraconference transfers. Sankey obliged, but said he wanted leaders to consider whether they wanted to keep the bylaw before the next academic year. 

Sankey told the USA Today Network that a decision could be made by late May or early June.