Informed Athlete | The Allen Group, Inc. | » Transfer

4-4 Transfer Assistance: DI to DII

Rick Allen — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 00:03:27 +0000

“Thanks for all the input and guidance you gave us when our son decided to transfer. Having a “third party” to discuss options with helped him make a good decision.”

Parent of a 4-4 baseball transfer

Things to consider if you are thinking about transferring

Ryan Allen — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 18:41:44 +0000

Hello again to all of our Informed Athlete Followers. Hopefully you are finding better ways to stay cool than I am in this hot weather.

With summer ball on the back stretch for many student-athletes, many guys are preparing to return to their respective schools.

A popular question this time of year for student-athletes may be whether or not it is in their best interest to return to the school that they finished the previous season with. This can obviously be a very difficult decision for most, if not all, student-athletes.

Speaking as a former student-athlete who transferred after his junior season, I can fully understand the anxiety behind starting over at a new school and leaving behind the relationships that you have formed at your current school. But at the end of the day, each athlete needs to look at his/her priorities as a student-athlete.

If you are a person who is more concerned with a continuous 4-year education from the same major university, then it may be in your best interest to stay where you are currently at. The same applies to those who are content with being a bench player or moderate contributor, or are simply fulfilling a dream of wearing those school’s colors.

However, if you are a person who wants to put him/herself in the best position to achieve their full potential, then you need to closely examine your options for staying/leaving for the following year.

The best indicator for your future with your current school would be your relationship with your head coach, and whether or not he/she sees a successful future for you on his/her team. I’m sure most of you have at least one coach on staff that you admire, or have a good relationship with. But, the head coach should be the tell-tale indicator. After all, he/she is the one who will make the final decision.

It might also be beneficial to look at your coach’s track record of developing players and what kinds of players get the most playing time. Some schools put more focus on developing their own players out of high school, while others may put an emphasis on bringing in junior college players to contribute immediately.

For example, if you just finished your first year at a particular school as redshirted player, does the trend indicate that you still have a good shot at playing time, or does that most likely mean your future with that school is dwindling.

In summation, there are many things to be considered when looking at your future with a particular athletic program. But keeping these issues at the forefront will hopefully put you in a better position to make a confident decision that will allow you to move forward with no regrets.

Walk-on Transfer Rules

Rick Allen — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 21:54:28 +0000

Can a preferred walk-on transfer from one D-I baseball program to another D-I without sitting out a year?

As most of you know, the NCAA transfer rule for baseball was changed a few years ago.

The change required athletes transferring from one D-I baseball program to another D-I to attend the second school for one academic year before they would be eligible for competition. They can be immediately eligible to practice with the team, but can’t play for one year.

However, there is an exception that allows a baseball player to be immediately eligible upon transfer to another D-I program.

A walk-on may use the one-time transfer exception as long as the school he is leaving did not recruit him to their baseball program.

The NCAA uses four criteria to determine if an athlete is a “recruited athlete.” To view the four criteria, click NCAA rules – Definition of a Recruited Athlete.

NCAA Rules – Definition of a Recruited Athlete

Rick Allen — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 21:38:04 +0000

How does the NCAA define whether a prospect is considered a recruited athlete?

A prospect is considered a recruited athlete if the college takes one of the following actions:

If they provide the prospect with an official visit.
If they have an off-campus contact with the prospect or the prospect’s parents or legal guardians.
If they offer the prospect a National Letter of Intent or an athletic scholarship agreement.
If they initiate a telephone conversation with the prospect or his parents or legal guardians more than one time.

Ironically, a coach can have frequent e-mail conversations with a prospect but that athlete will still not be defined as a recruited athlete if the coach does not use any of the four actions above to encourage the prospect to attend the college and join their athletic program.

What is Informed Athlete?

Rick Allen — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:27:45 +0000

Informed Athlete LLC provides guidance and answers questions that high school and college athletes, parents, and coaches have about college athletic recruiting, eligibility, transfers, and scholarships.

Rick & Julie Allen founded Informed Athlete in 2008 to help families of student athletes who have the athletic skills to compete at the collegiate level, but often struggle through the recruiting or transfer process and make mistakes that cost a lot of money or result in an athlete quitting their sport before they have reached their full potential.

Informed Athlete is NOT a recruting service – our prime concern is the family we work with. We also offer assistance following college enrollment, for example in situations involving a transfer from one college to another. We deliver our services in several ways including our website: InformedAthlete.com, monthly newsletters, teleseminars, live presentations and individual consultations/coaching sessions with the student-athlete and his/her family.

Rick Allen is uniquely qualified in this field. He has worked on college campuses since 1980, and has over 20 years experience working directly with the NCAA compliance rules and procedures on two college campuses: the University of Illinois and Oklahoma State University. In addition, he also understands what it’s like to be in the parents’ shoes as his son went through the recruiting process and signed to play baseball at University of Missouri 4 years ago.

Transfer Issues Related to "Walk-ons" in College Athletics

Rick Allen — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:56:00 +0000

Question: My daughter is participating on the volleyball team at a Division II college as a walk-on. The coaching staff did not recruit her. She now desires to transfer to a college closer to home that is in the same conference as her first college and join their volleyball team. Her current coach won’t give her permission to contact any school in the same conference. Does the coach have the right to do this? The coaches didn’t even recruit my daughter.

Answer: In many cases the coach does have the right to do this. If a student-athlete at one four-year college contacts another four-year college about the possibility of a transfer, the coach at the second college is not permitted to speak with the student-athlete until he/she has received written permission from an athletic administrator at the first college. In this case, however, the first college must provide your daughter with the opportunity for an appeal hearing with a campus committee. We provide assistance to athletes that find themselves in this situation. For more information, call 918-994-7272 or email rick@informedathlete.com.

Advice for College Athletes Regarding Transfer Situations

Rick Allen — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 19:04:52 +0000

It’s the time of year when some college athletes are considering, or have already decided, to transfer to another school for the spring semester. Sometimes it is their choice, and sometimes they are encouraged to leave. (Some baseball athletes are being affected by the latter, as NCAA Division I coaches must cap their baseball roster at 35 players by the start of the season.)

If an athlete is planning to transfer to an NCAA Division I or II school, coaches cannot speak to the athlete about a transfer until they receive written permission from the athlete’s current institution. So, the first thing the athlete should do is talk to their coach and explain that they would like to request permission to speak with other schools. One of the things that upsets many coaches is when they receive a “permission to contact” form from another school and the student-athlete has not given them any indication that they are considering a transfer. The key to remember – coaches don’t like surprises.

It also can be helpful if the athlete and his/her parents are on the same page. A father once contacted school B to say that his son wanted to transfer from school A, and asked school B how to accomplish the transfer. B assumed that the athlete was interested in their school and sent a “permission to contact” form to school A. The compliance person at A contacted his counterpart at B and said that the athlete wanted to know why the form was sent because he had no interest in transferring. I told my counterpart at A that the athlete should talk to his Dad.

For more information on this and other relevant topics, please call 918-994-7272 or email rick@informedathlete.com.