Michigan adopts tougher rules for student-athlete transfers

Michigan’s athletic association announced this week it adopted stricter rules for student-athletes who transfer high schools to play sports.

Transfers previously were required to sit out one semester, but the Michigan High School Athletic Association voted to increase their ineligibility to a full year. However, transferring athletes will be immediately eligible to participate in sports that they didn’t play at their previous schools.

The new provision will go into effect beginning with the 2019-20 school year.

“We are hopeful this ‘sport-specific’ transfer rule will be easier to understand, and therefore, more consistently enforced,” MHSAA Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts said in a news release.

“This rule better addresses the changing landscape of transfers, hopefully dissuading those considering moving for athletic reasons while still allowing a full range of sports for those who do switch. It may seem like a punishment to some, but the new rule is actually more permissive for many transfer students, and we saw growing support for these changes from our schools since we began discussing this proposal a year ago.”

Click here to read more from the MHSAA.


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