NCAA changes JC transfer rules
While not of huge importance to Michigan, ESPN has an article about the NCAA changing the requirements for junior college athletes to transfer from the NJCAA level to the NCAA level. Up until 2013, JC students had to:
- maintain a 2.0 grade point average
- 6 hours of English
- 3 hours of Math
- 48 hours that make up an associate's degree
under new NCAA rules, to transfer into an NCAA school and play, JC students must:
- maintain a 2.5 grade point average
- 6 hours of English
- 3 hours of Math
- 3 hours of Science
- no more than 2 hours of Physical Activity credits
- 48 hours that make up an associate's degree
this is a pretty significant jump up in eligibility requirements. the article states that students enrolled at NCAA schools only have to maintain a 2.3 average, which is less than theh the JC kids are asked. also, the article states that there were over 2,500 athletes that moved from NJCAA to FBS and FCS schools in 2012, 1,000 for football and basketball.
this doesn't really have much impact on Michigan as getting JuCo kids admitted is a bit of a stretch (not sure what UM's requirement is). there are several programs, particularly Kansas State, that do take a lot of JuCo players. other schools that regularly recruit the JuCo ranks include Michigan State, nebraska, ohio state and many of the down south schools.
personally, i don't really get the motivation for this rule change, one way or the other. i think that the JuCo route is obviously a route that a lot of kids have to take to be able to get to the next level, but a 2.5 GPA at JuCo is not too much to ask. i guess the downside of this is that kids that want to play big time sports that might not have the grades will likely try to get into NCAA schools and not make it academically, whereas the time at a JuCo might allow them to mature and learn some decent study habits.
http://247sports.com/Season/2012-Football/RecruitRankings?InstitutionGroup=JuniorCollege
discuss:
[edit: added that JuCos still have to get the 48 hour assoc degree]
ed-S: Akearney50 below's comment clears a lot of this up:
Clarifications - The new two-year transfer eligibility requirements take effect for any student-athlete who enrolled in college full-time after August 1, 2012.
The 2.3 GPA the article states is the lowest possible core GPA from high school/prep school for freshmen to be eligible. But that doesn't take effect until the high school class of 2016. The lowest possible high school/prep school core GPA for the 2014 and 2015 classes is 2.0.
Two-year transfers with a GPA between a 2.0 and 2.49 can still receive athletics aid and practice. So the NCAA isn't taking away any extra educational opportunities. The year not being able to compete is designed to help ease the educational burden on incoming students who are at risk (2.0 to 2.49 and/or student-athletes who do not meet the necessary core course hour requirements).
I work in compliance at the FCS level and I have seen a lot of two-year student-athlete transcripts. The classes the two-year institutions were having them enroll in was awful. Student-athletes who want to be business majors but they have taken mostly physical education classes to stay eligible. There is an issue and this needed to happen.
December 4th, 2013 at 11:47 AM ^
It is not unreasonable to think that transfers could really help our 2-deep, especially at O-Line. Blue Blood, academic elitism notwithstanding (a line I used commenting on Brian's ticket post yesterday), I would love to see this staff mine the community colleges for quality kids with size and experience to bolster our depth. Whether these elusive targets actually exist outside of my imagination is another matter altogether.
December 4th, 2013 at 12:13 PM ^
im thinking that if a kid is able to maintian grades high enough to transfer to michigan and was good enough of an athlete for the coaches to recruit him, he probably would have been offered by some other schools out of high school and gone there instead.
December 4th, 2013 at 1:37 PM ^
But if they weren't eligible out of HS for whatever reason, a reasonable path would be through JC. I work in education and can testify that many kids, especially those lacking cultural capital that emphasizes schooling, don't develop the academic chops to maintain grades until late in (or after) high school. Also, Elite O-Line bulk is something a kid can actually develop well after he's 17 or 18. However, I willfully acknowledge these cases are quite rare. Academic foundations are usually established pretty early. My question is, might it be worth the effort to put a GA or department intern to the task of scouring JC rosters (in the event it isn't already being done)?
December 4th, 2013 at 11:08 AM ^
I know that in the past some schools have had "pet" JC's that they steered players to, and I'm guessing those players often were steered toward Phys Ed or related majors. This is probably an attempt to slow that down, though I am personally not optimistic it will have much effect. Schools willing to load up on JUCO's will find ways around the rules and keep doing it. (Cough, cough, SEC...)
December 4th, 2013 at 11:18 AM ^
i guess the downside of this is that kids that want to play big time sports that might not have the grades will likely try to get into NCAA schools and not make it academically, whereas the time at a JuCo might allow them to mature and learn some decent study habits.
Not quite sure what you're getting at here. The admissions standards for Jucos aren't changing. Lousy students can still learn better study habits at a Juco. They just need to get slightly better grades at the Juco before they move on to a 4-year school.
In the end, this probably will just mean a little more of that good ol' academic fraud at the Juco level to get the guys eligible.
December 4th, 2013 at 11:31 AM ^
i guess what i was thinking was that if you were a kid that had trouble with grades, the JuCo route might not be as sure a thing with the higher requirement, so instead of enrolling at JuCo, you might try to make a go of it at FBS or FCS level, where things would be tougher and you might fail out of school entirely with harder classes.
December 4th, 2013 at 12:38 PM ^
Usually the whole point of going to the Juco is that you're ineligible to go to the 4-year school. Marginally-qualified guys don't turn down the free ride if they can get it.
December 4th, 2013 at 11:21 AM ^
- The new two-year transfer eligibility requirements take effect for any student-athlete who enrolled in college full-time after August 1, 2012.
- The 2.3 GPA the article states is the lowest possible core GPA from high school/prep school for freshmen to be eligible. But that doesn't take effect until the high school class of 2016. The lowest possible high school/prep school core GPA for the 2014 and 2015 classes is 2.0.
- Two-year transfers with a GPA between a 2.0 and 2.49 can still receive athletics aid and practice. So the NCAA isn't taking away any extra educational opportunities. The year not being able to compete is designed to help ease the educational burden on incoming students who are at risk (2.0 to 2.49 and/or student-athletes who do not meet the necessary core course hour requirements).
- I work in compliance at the FCS level and I have seen a lot of two-year student-athlete transcripts. The classes the two-year institutions were having them enroll in was awful. Student-athletes who want to be business majors but they have taken mostly physical education classes to stay eligible. There is an issue and this needed to happen.
December 4th, 2013 at 11:54 AM ^
The classes the two-year institutions were having them enroll in was awful. Student-athletes who want to be business majors but they have taken mostly physical education classes to stay eligible.
I think it's worth pointing out at this juncture that this is usually the barrier to JUCO players at higher-level academic schools. Fuzzy-sounding "admissions standards" are usually blamed but - at least at UVA, and I'm sure Michigan is similar - UVA doesn't take JUCOs because their credits don't transfer in. Either UVA has no equivalent class, or the equivalent class can't be verified to be up to snuff to earn a transfer credit. UVA will send ineligible players to a nearby community college to brush up their grades, but that's because UVA can control what classes they take. I imagine U-M is similar, with a similar unwillingness to just fudge the transfer-credit requirements.
December 4th, 2013 at 12:33 PM ^
We have had ineligible recruits go to prep schools to improve their high school GPA, but I don't think we've sent them to Jucos.
December 4th, 2013 at 7:03 PM ^
Clarification I should've mentioned: Coming out of high school, UVA has 'em prep; they go to the local CC if they get to UVA and then flunk out. It's much rarer, because a lot of guys who flunk out prefer to just go to a school where the grades they already have are good enough, especially if they're NCAA eligible but not UVA eligible. A few, though, stay local and take the necessary CC classes.
December 4th, 2013 at 11:35 AM ^
Execution!
December 4th, 2013 at 11:51 AM ^
A devastating blow to Kansas State and Mississippi State
December 4th, 2013 at 11:54 AM ^
One thing that might help folks here can be found (well, downloaded) on this page - (LINK).
It is the NCAA Transfer Guidelines, written more or less in summary format and geared towards students who may be thinking about transferring. Hence, it is a pretty clear and concise guide.
You can download the PDF and view the booklet - the sections on transferring from 2-year to 4-year schools (2-4 transfer) begin on page 15. It also runs through how this is different across divisions as well, if you want that sort of comparison.
December 4th, 2013 at 11:56 AM ^
December 4th, 2013 at 12:00 PM ^
December 4th, 2013 at 12:35 PM ^
December 4th, 2013 at 12:35 PM ^
I can't remember any.
Just wondering if this has ever happened.
I know plenty of recruits that went the other direction (UM to junior college).
December 4th, 2013 at 12:42 PM ^
Austin Panter in the mid-2000s
December 4th, 2013 at 12:53 PM ^
Because I'm a little surprised at the "48 hours" thing. How the hell are some guys able to transfer from JUCO after one year? Shit, I remember 18 credit hours was a lot for a semester.
December 4th, 2013 at 1:49 PM ^
December 4th, 2013 at 4:42 PM ^
It really depends on a lot. The biggest factor: was the student-athlete deemed a qualifier or non-qualifier out of high school. If it is a qualifier (meet certain academic criteria such as the 2.0 and 2.3 core GPA mentioned above) then it is easier to transfer to a four-year institution and be eligible for competition immediately. Non-qualifiers have to graduate (Associate's Degree) to gain immediate eligibility when transferring to a four-year institution.
After that it depends on several factors which deal with credit hours, GPA and enrolled full-time semesters.
December 4th, 2013 at 5:03 PM ^
It isn't hard to get 48 units in a JC in 2 or 3 semesters plus summer school, when 3/4s of your courses are easy passes, and physical activities carry loads of credit.
There is nothing wrong with vocational courses, and learning study and time management skills. But most occupational and college prep courses aren't intended to substitute for lower division university courses.
December 4th, 2013 at 3:21 PM ^
I was told there'd be no math.
December 4th, 2013 at 10:39 PM ^