The Division I Council met as a part of the NCAA Convention in San Antonio, Tex., this week. The council voted to eliminate, completely, the volunteer coach designation across all Division I sports, instead including those coaches within a new limit for countable coaches in each of the applicable sports. This vote will up the number of countable coaches in baseball, softball, and ice hockey to four in each sport. The council rejected an additional increase to five countable coaches in those sports, however.

For decades, softball and baseball programs across the country have been unable to hire more than three paid full-time coaches on their staffs, which resulted in volunteer coaches positions being created. This rule change eliminates that volunteer coaching position and allows for a volunteer coach on staff to become a full-time assistant coach with full recruiting privileges. The rule change will also increase the number of both men’s and women’s basketball coaches, giving each school the ability to hire up to two additional coaches. These coaches will be eligible to engage in coaching activities but may not recruit off campus, however.

There have been some changes to the transfer portal rules and regulations, as well. There are new guidelines that will help govern the activity of moving from one school to another.

Transfer waiver guidelines:
The Council voted unanimously to update guidelines for the waiver process for undergraduate student-athletes who are transferring for a second time. Each waiver request will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, but moving forward, student-athletes must meet one of the following criteria to be granted a waiver to compete immediately:

• A demonstrated physical injury or illness or mental health condition that necessitated the student's transfer (supporting documentation, care plans, and proximity of the student's support system will be considered), or
• Exigent circumstances that clearly necessitate a student-athlete's immediate departure from the previous school (e.g., physical assault or abuse, sexual assault) unrelated to the student-athletes athletics participation.

All other guidelines will no longer be used for waiver requests to compete during championship seasons that first occur in 2023-24. The Council agreed that athletics reasons (lack of playing time, position presence) and academic preferences should not warrant waiver relief. The Council directed the Transfer Advisory Group to recommend changes to the transfer waiver process to manage situations that fall outside these guidelines. For transfer student-athletes expected to meet the requirements for a limited transfer exception (discontinued sport, or non-scholarship exception) the Council voted to allow student-athletes to enter the Transfer Portal at any time instead of requiring them to use their respective sport's transfer window. Standardized test requirements for initial eligibility, the council voted to eliminate test score requirements for immediate eligibility for incoming freshman student-athletes, at the recommendation from the NCAA Standardized Test Score Task Force. The task force was a specialized group charged with reviewing initial eligibility requirements as part of the NCAA's eight-point plan to advance racial equity."As some NCAA member schools shift away from requiring standardized test scores for general student admissions, the Council felt it was appropriate to reflect those admission standards in eligibility requirements for incoming freshman student-athletes," Tealer said. Since 2020, NCAA Division I have waived standardized test requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the ability of prospects to take the test.

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