The Presidents of SEC Schools came together and voted in favor of common sense. SEC grad transfers will now be allowed to transfer inside the conference if they’ve earned their degree.
SEC grad transfers no longer must sit out a year when transferring to another league school, SEC presidents voted today. Previously, SEC required grad transfers to sit out a year when transferring to another SEC school
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) June 1, 2018
Jeremy Pruitt has been vocal in his stance that graduates have fulfilled their duty to the university and should be allowed to be completely free. Nick Saban has mockingly called it “free agency.”
Score one for the good guys.
Alabama graduate, and backup lineman, Brandon Kennedy has been linked to Auburn and Tennessee. Nick Saban refused to sign off on him going to one of the Tide’s rivals. Now, he no longer has that power to block the transfer.
The easy comparison to make is that college coaches have been able to hop from school to school, even within conference like Dan Mullen. Instead of having to sit out a year, they are often rewarded with more money and power.
The players, on the other hand, were forced to travel outside of conference and, sometimes, the region of the country they are familiar with to find a fit that suits their needs. Today, the SEC decided to throw a bone to the players, at least the ones that have been standout students. Every now and then they *do* need to promote that whole “student athlete” thing.
There has been talk for a year about even removing the one year mandatory sit-out season for regular, non graduate, transfers. It appears that it will not come to fruition this year, but as the NCAA continues to try to dodge the prospect of paying the prospects, allowing a quasi-free agency is the sensible move.
