Otis Reese Update: SEC Making Steps, Still Awaiting the NCAA
Ole Miss is one step closer to having transfer safety Otis Reese be named eligible. After a Wednesday night statement by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, it's all in the NCAA's hands now.
Sankey came out on Wednesday evening, issuing a statement that Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin told us would likely come on Monday – the SEC has temporarily struck down its mandate that intra-conference transfers must sit out one season before being eligible.
As mentioned, this is a temporary waiver granted to players such as Reese by the SEC, with Sankey citing COVID-19 challenges as a reason to grant such players waivers. The more relevant snippets of his statement is below.
The Southeastern Conference today approved a number of transfer waiver requests that originated from member institutions seeking exceptions to the long-standing Conference bylaw that requires intra-conference transfers to serve a year in residence before being eligible to compete.
It must be stated unequivocally that these approvals are solely a reflection of the unique circumstances present and should not be interred as endorsement of the rationale set forth by individuals seeking these waivers.
It is evident that the current transfer bylaw must undergo a thorough review by Conference membership in the most timely manner possible and prior to the 2021-22 academic year.
(See here for Sankey's full statement)
However, the SEC's decision is just half of the process to get Otis Reese eligible. As confirmed by an athletics department spokesman following the statements by Sankey, Ole Miss is yet to hear from the NCAA regarding Reese' eligibility. This step would have to take place before any decision from the SEC would even be relevant.
Reese arrived at Ole Miss in January from Georgia. He's one of three significant players in the SEC that such a ruling would be relevant to – Kentucky's Joey Gatewood (an Auburn transfer) and Tennessee's Cade Mays (also a Georgia transfer) have both been granted NCAA eligibility at the time of this publishing.
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