Shaking up college baseball
Jul 22, 2022 13:32:27 GMT -8
lebaneaver, steinlager, and 1 more like this
Post by chinmusic on Jul 22, 2022 13:32:27 GMT -8
The NCAA Division 1 Council is making some changes across the board in college athletics and baseball is not excepted. I think the changes are needed to keep pace with increased growth and popularity of the college game. In terms of the affect on baseball. the changes fall into 3 categories 1) the transfer window policy, 2) expanding the "one-time" transfer rule, and 3) the number of coaches and scholarships allowed.
"The NCAA Division I Council on Wednesday endorsed concepts from the Transformation Committee on a range of issues regarding efficiency and timeliness of the infractions process and improving clarity in the transfer environment. The Council is soon expected to formally approve those concepts.
THE TRANSFER PORTAL:
From a college baseball perspective, the potential changes to the transfer process is by far the most important element of the endorsed concepts.
The transfer portal deadline of July 1, which applies to baseball and all other spring sports, has become a hot button topic for coaches and players alike over the past year. Currently, the July 1 portal entry date coincides with the scholarship renewal date of July 1. Additionally, there’s even more uncertainty when it comes to rosters because of the mid-July MLB draft.
The endorsed concepts from the D1 Council would allow players to enter the transfer portal 60 days from the day after the NCAA postseason selections. For instance, had this rule been in effect for the 2022 season, the deadline to enter the portal would be July 29. Assuming these concepts are formally approved, the deadline to enter for the 2023 season would be July 28.
There are two trains of thought on the 60-day entry window:
The later portal entry date is not a negative for coaches, but with one caveat — many prominent coaches would like to see the scholarship renewal deadline move to at least a couple of weeks after the draft — ideally August 1. Currently, coaches must renew scholarships on July 1 with the draft taking place a couple of weeks later. In essence, they are making final roster management decisions without knowing the actual landscape of their rosters.
The issue baseball runs into is that the NCAA has never treated the sport as an individual entity despite having a much different system of processes from other spring sports. No other sport has a summer draft that can dramatically change the construction of a roster. Baseball would need the Council and Transformation Committee to propose moving only baseball’s scholarship renewal deadline to a later date. It would be surprising to see that happen.
THE ONE TIME TRANSFER RULE:
The other interesting concept that was endorsed pertains to the one-time transfer rule. The concept endorsed by the D1 Council would eliminate a blanket rule that says you only can transfer once without sitting out. Coaches won’t like that concept, but again, all the momentum from an NCAA standpoint right now pertains to student-athlete welfare and flexibility.
NUMBER OF COACHES AND SCHOLARSHIPS:
The two most important topics from a baseball standpoint are scholarships and the number of coaches a team can employ. The Transformation Committee has created concepts that would lift the cap on scholarship restrictions for equivalency sports such as baseball. They also want to lift the cap on the number of coaches a team can employ. Both of those caps, if approved, would fall on the individual conferences as opposed to Division I Baseball as a whole."
"The NCAA Division I Council on Wednesday endorsed concepts from the Transformation Committee on a range of issues regarding efficiency and timeliness of the infractions process and improving clarity in the transfer environment. The Council is soon expected to formally approve those concepts.
THE TRANSFER PORTAL:
From a college baseball perspective, the potential changes to the transfer process is by far the most important element of the endorsed concepts.
The transfer portal deadline of July 1, which applies to baseball and all other spring sports, has become a hot button topic for coaches and players alike over the past year. Currently, the July 1 portal entry date coincides with the scholarship renewal date of July 1. Additionally, there’s even more uncertainty when it comes to rosters because of the mid-July MLB draft.
The endorsed concepts from the D1 Council would allow players to enter the transfer portal 60 days from the day after the NCAA postseason selections. For instance, had this rule been in effect for the 2022 season, the deadline to enter the portal would be July 29. Assuming these concepts are formally approved, the deadline to enter for the 2023 season would be July 28.
There are two trains of thought on the 60-day entry window:
The later portal entry date is not a negative for coaches, but with one caveat — many prominent coaches would like to see the scholarship renewal deadline move to at least a couple of weeks after the draft — ideally August 1. Currently, coaches must renew scholarships on July 1 with the draft taking place a couple of weeks later. In essence, they are making final roster management decisions without knowing the actual landscape of their rosters.
The issue baseball runs into is that the NCAA has never treated the sport as an individual entity despite having a much different system of processes from other spring sports. No other sport has a summer draft that can dramatically change the construction of a roster. Baseball would need the Council and Transformation Committee to propose moving only baseball’s scholarship renewal deadline to a later date. It would be surprising to see that happen.
THE ONE TIME TRANSFER RULE:
The other interesting concept that was endorsed pertains to the one-time transfer rule. The concept endorsed by the D1 Council would eliminate a blanket rule that says you only can transfer once without sitting out. Coaches won’t like that concept, but again, all the momentum from an NCAA standpoint right now pertains to student-athlete welfare and flexibility.
NUMBER OF COACHES AND SCHOLARSHIPS:
The two most important topics from a baseball standpoint are scholarships and the number of coaches a team can employ. The Transformation Committee has created concepts that would lift the cap on scholarship restrictions for equivalency sports such as baseball. They also want to lift the cap on the number of coaches a team can employ. Both of those caps, if approved, would fall on the individual conferences as opposed to Division I Baseball as a whole."
