Georgia Football: Big Ten Proposes New One-Time Transfer Rule

The Big Ten is trying to shake things up in the collegiate athletic landscape in a BIG way. In a day and age of college athletics where student-athletes transferring has become an epidemic, the Big Ten is attempting to throw gasoline on that fire.

As first reported by CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd, the conference has proposed a new rule that will allow a one-time transfer rule that will provide immediate eligibility.

According to Dodd, the NCAA was unaware of this rule being proposed and they have placed a temporary hold on all transfer related discussions until the end of 2020. However, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith told ESPN's Adam Rittenberg that they want to force the discussion on the topic.

So, what does all of this mean within regards to Georgia and SEC Athletics in general? Specifically football.

Well, according to the transfer numbers provided by NCAA.org from 2004 to 2018 Football wasn't really the problem. In 2004, 3.4% of FBS rosters transferred to another 4-year school, that number jumped to just 4.1% by 2018.

Basketball has become a problem, to say the least. In 2004, 9.4% of Men's Basketball programs transferred from a 4-year school to another 4-year school. That number jumped all the way to 14.3% by 2018.

Now, that being said, transfer rates have gone up slightly over the last decade and a half, and this type of player movement is only going to become more and more common especially if immediate eligibility is available.

Despite what some believe, the NCAA serves a purpose as an organization and one of those purposes is to level the playing field. Meaning, the Big Ten won't be allowed to approve this rule unless it is accepted Nationwide by the remainder of the Power-5 schools because they are not interested in competitive advantages.

That being said, I think this one time rule should be accepted in SEC Circles, and here's why... No longer will you have to be concerned with hardships. No longer will you have to scratch your head as to why Luke Ford - who was merely transferring back home to spend time with his sick grandparents - is denied immediate eligibility, but Tate Martell not only gets to leave Ohio State and get immediate eligibility at Miami, the only reason he had to leave, Justin Fields, was granted eligibility after transferring from Georgia.

Some will say that this potential rule change - which at the earliest would be put into place in 2021 - is just going to further diminish the game. To which I say, play mobility seems to be a hot button issue for some, yet when you turn in your two weeks at your day job for what you deem to be a better opportunity, I don't hear too much squawking from the peanut gallery.

Employee mobility is allowed on the adult and professional level, yet it's not at the collegiate sports level? It seems like just another way of hiding behind the "amateur" sports shield, but I don't exactly by into that.

I think eventually this is the wave of the future, if for no other reason than to take the hardship process out of the hands of a seemingly incompetent NCAA structure and system.

The NCAA's creation in 1906 was originally intended as a rule guiding organization determined to level the playing field among collegiate athletics. The only problem, in 1906 the primary objective was simply to keep things fair. Now, the spectacle that is college football, each SEC team in 2019 had a revenue SHARE of $44.6 Million.

The train that is college football has gotten far too big for the conductor leading the way. So, why not take transfer eligibility off their plate? Why not streamline the system as much as possible?

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