Court sets aside NCAA transfer rule, meaning 2nd-time transfers can play, for now

A federal judge in West Virginia issued a 14-day temporary restraining order Wednesday against the NCAA, allowing two-time transfers to play immediately, at least for now.

West Virginia and six other states had sued the NCAA, arguing that the rule requiring a waiver for two-time transfers to play immediately at their new schools violated the Sherman Anti-trust Act. U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey in northern West Virginia issued the TRO, and set an additional hearing on the matter for Dec. 27.

The NCAA issued a statement Wednesday afternoon saying it would not challenge the ruling, and would notify schools as such. That means that any second-time undergraduate transfer who was previously forced to sit out will be able to play immediately.

The NCAA adopted a rule in 2021 allowing for a one-time transfer exception for undergraduates, meaning any athlete could transfer once and play immediately without sitting out a year. Second-time transfers were required to be graduates or receive an NCAA waiver in order to play immediately at a third school.

It’s unclear how many athletes Wednesday’s ruling applies to, though West Virginia basketball player RaeQuan Battle – who played at Montana State a year ago – and Southern Miss basketball player Andre Cubelo are at least two of them. It’s possible any number of college football players will enter the transfer portal for a second time within the next two weeks in order to advantage of the ruling.