Around the Pac-12: NCAA transfer policy goes to court; Oregon Ducks to host Dante Moore; DJ Uiagalelei to visit Florida State.

NCAA Transfer Policy Does to court, Around the pac-12…

The transfer portal went to court in West Virginia on Wednesday. And it won.

At least temporarily.

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey issued a 14-day temporary restraining order against the NCAA and its inconsistent transfer policy, forbidding the association from denying athletes the chance to play immediately after transferring for a second time.

The NCAA almost surely will appeal the federal court ruling, which stemmed from a lawsuit filed by seven states, including West Virginia, alleging that the NCAA’s transfer rules and waiver process violated federal antitrust law.

A hearing on the restraining order is scheduled for Dec. 27.

After loosening its transfer rules during the coronavirus pandemic, the NCAA tightened them in January, announcing that undergraduate athletes who transfer more than once need a special waiver to avoid having to sit out a year at their new school. (NCAA rules allow underclassmen to transfer once without penalty) Since January, undergraduate athletes looking to transfer and play immediately have been subjected to an inconsistent and lengthy waiver process handled on a case-by-case basis.

Even athletes who had transferred before the rules took effect in January were subject to the stricter policies.

This included North Carolina wide receiver Tez Walker, who transferred to the Tar Heels in December 2021. The NCAA initially denied his waiver as a multi-time transfer, before reversing course during the season when it claimed “new information” had come to light during the waiver process. The new information conveniently surfaced after North Carolina attorney general Josh Stein threatened legal action against the NCAA on behalf of North Carolina and Walker.

On the other hand, the NCAA denied Florida State defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr.’s hardship waiver even though he transferred to be closer to his ailing mother, who lives outside Tallahassee, Florida. Jackson was forced to sit out the entire 2023 season, drawing the ire of multiple Florida legislatures — and further questioning the NCAA’s transfer rules.