One-Time Transfer Exception
The one-time transfer exception is the most commonly used exception for transfers from one four-year college to another, especially if the transfer involves two colleges in NCAA Division I or II.
•If transferring to a Division I school, the athlete must play a sport other than football, men’s or women’s basketball, or baseball. The exception is that an athlete can transfers to a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS or I-AA) school and use this exception provided he or she has at least two seasons of competition remaining. In Division II, any sport may use the one-time transfer exception.
•The athlete must not have previously transferred from another four-year school.
•At the time of the transfer, the athlete would have been academically eligible at the previous school; and
•If transferring from an NCAA or NAIA school, the athlete’s previous school states in writing that they have no objection to the athlete using the one-time transfer exception.
While the one-time transfer exception is the most commonly used, it is technically the last resort. If a student-athlete can find another transfer exception to use, it is generally better since they have fewer requirements and sometime make the transfer not count if the student-athlete needs to transfer again.
Graduate Exception
The graduate exception is a version of the one-time transfer exception. It is for student-athletes who cannot use the normal one-time transfer exception because they play one of the sports that are not permitted to use the exception.
•The student-athlete must have graduated with at least a bachelor’s degree;
•The student-athlete meets the other requirements of the one-time transfer exception;
•The student-athlete must have at least one season of competition left; and
•The student-athlete’s previous school did not renew his or her athletic scholarship or offer an athletic scholarship for the following academic year.
The requirement that the scholarship be cancelled or not renewed is generally not an issue. The scholarship does not need to be cancelled before the transfer or be the reason for the transfer. Because the one-time transfer exception requires you to get a release, what will happen with your scholarship is generally just an administrative detail.
Graduate Transfer Waiver
The graduate transfer waiver is now typically used by athletes who have previous transferred once before and so cannot use the one-time transfer exception (even as a graduate student).
A letter from the previous school saying it does not object to the student-athlete being eligible;
Documentation that the student-athlete has been accepted into a specific graduate degree program;
Documentation about whether that degree program is offered by the previous school;
A student-athlete statement including the reasons for the transfer; and
A statement from the previous institution about the student-athlete’s status on the team.
Generally the heart of the waiver is the three middle bullets. The NCAA wants to see that the student-athlete transferred in order to continue his or her academic career by pursuing a graduate degree not offered at the previous school.
