I went on vacation and the NCAA went and changed everything.
When my time off began a few weeks ago, it seemed a fait accompli that the NCAA’s Division I Council finally would change the transfer rules for the better—removing the ability for coaches or athletic directors to block a player from transferring on scholarship to anywhere that player chooses. The proposal that seemed far less likely to pass involved a change in the redshirt rule that would allow Division I football players to play up to four games in a season and still redshirt. That rule had been the pet project of American Football Coaches Association president Todd Berry for years, but even though it had the support of practically every coach in the country, Berry didn’t seem optimistic that university presidents, athletic directors and conference officials would agree.