Moving seasoned college athletes to Seattle Pacific University just became much easier.

On Monday, April 22, 2024, the National Collegiate Athletics Association Division I board ratified new regulations for DI college athletes going through the transfer portal. DII and DIII followed suit on Wednesday, April 24, 2024.

According to the new regulations, any student in suitable academic and disciplinary standing who meets progress toward degree requirements can enter the transfer portal during the transfer portal window and begin playing the following school year.

This new regulation eliminates the prior restriction on multiple transfers, which forced players to wait a year for eligibility if they had transferred more than twice.

Kali Barber, the NCAA compliance coordinator at SPU’s athletics department, praised these changes for making it easier for transfer students.

“I think it’s a benefit because kids who are at DI that bounce around maybe one or two times to see if they fit into the DI model, but then realize that they don’t, can come back down to DII to a smaller school to be more academically focused,” Barber said.

According to Barber, these new rule changes were expected, although she was surprised they did not come earlier.

The new rules open fresh opportunities for SPU and other schools to acquire players.

“It can allow coaches to branch out on their recruiting and find a kid who is not happy at their school but who currently is sitting there going, ‘I can’t transfer, I just have to stick it out,’” Barber said.

However, getting everyone adjusted to the new rules will take time. Barber said that the NCAA sent the SPU athletics department an email on the morning of April 25 indicating they would provide further information to SPU and other universities later.

“It’s going to be kind of an ever-changing educational time,” Barber said. “Who knows what’s going to come next through the NCAA?”