NIAA approves transfer rule

Spencer Patterson

Wednesday, June 20, 2001 | 10:12 a.m.

The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association adopted a one-time free transfer Tuesday, but stopped short of granting that option to all high school student-athletes.

Under the new resolution, which passed by a 7-1 vote of the NIAA's Board of Control in Reno, students who utilize the one-time transfer will be eligible to participate in athletics immediately at their new school, but only at the freshman or junior varsity levels.

That means students hoping to play varsity sports after a transfer will continue to go through an appeals process if they hope to avoid sitting out 180 days, roughly one full academic year.

"That's the option I favored. I think it's the best of both worlds," Clark County athletic director Larry McKay said. "It's flexible to allow kids to play who haven't been allowed to play in the past, and it also puts to rest a lot of fears people have that kids will be jumping from one school to the next."

Students who move from one zone to another will continue to maintain their athletic eligibility. But students transferring by way of zone variance, as well as those transferring from public to private school or vice versa, will have the new option at their disposal.

"I think this is a good step," NIAA executive director Jerry Hughes said. "We'll have to evaluate it and see how it works. But it's worth trying."

Students who have played at the varsity level in one or more sports are still eligible for the one-time transfer but must play at a lower level in those sports at their new schools.

"Most of these kids are young kids who, in order to make an academic choice, are asked to give up 25 percent of their athletic eligibility," McKay said. "I've always had a problem with that."

Parents or guardians of students applying for the one-time transfer must sign and submit a form certifying that, among other things, they did not "school shop" to gain "favorable athletic conditions or treatment" and that their son or daughter was not recruited by athletic personnel.

McKay said the board would work to create a more comprehensive definition of "recruiting" in today's second session.