AIA to recommend keeping transfer rule at 50%; players ineligible for first half of season
It appears the Arizona Interscholastic Association's transfer rule will pretty much remain the same after the committee met with AIA leaders during a Friday meeting.
Joe Paddock, assistant executive director of the AIA, said in a text message to The Arizona Republic that the recommendation that will go forward, likely to the Legislative Council in March, will be to "keep most of the current language, including the 50% for the first portion of the games."
So, for football players who transfer for the first time, if they're not granted hardships, they would sit out the first five games of the high school season, before becoming eligible for the remaining five and the playoffs, which is how it has been.
This rule is one reason why there has been an Open Division in football since 2019, and why there will be an Open Division beginning this season for boys and girls basketball.
The Open Division takes the best teams from the three large-school conferences (6A, 5A and 4A) and puts them into a postseason state tournament. The idea for this was to create more parity and give the so-called non-destination schools a chance at competing in the postseason for championships.
However, underclassmen who transfer, as long as they are not competing on varsity, are eligible without penalty the entire season, the AIA is going to push forward to the Legislative Council for a vote.
At the last meeting, the AIA leaders asked the transfer committee to survey their conference administrators on which rule they would like to see put in place for transfers. In mid-November, the transfer committee was considering the Ohio rule, which would make athletes ineligible for the second half of the season, including the playoffs.
In November, the AIA leaders discussed with the committee a rule for first-time transfers that would let athletes play the first 70% of the season, before becoming ineligible for the rest of the season, including the playoffs. The AIA asked the committee to go back to their conferences to get a feel for what they wanted to be pushed forward.
Of the 105 schools surveyed in 6A, 5A and 4A, 80% of administrators were against a rule that would keep first-time transfers from participating in the latter half of the season, including the playoffs, but allow them to play in the first 70% of the season.
The feeling is that the current 50% rule is working among administrators in Arizona.
The rule being proposed, however, is being tweaked for other sports such as basketball, baseball and softball. Players would have to sit out the first in-season tournament, before becoming eligible.
This is an attempt to get it back to 50% equal across the board for all sports. The same thing would be in place for individual sports. Athletes would be ineligible for the first half of the season.
But, if an underclassman transfers, and isn't going to be playing varsity, those athletes would be eligible without sitting out any games, as long as they are playing junior varsity only.
To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: AIA to recommend keeping transfer rule; sit out first five games
