Athletes With Multiple Transfers Have Lower Graduation Rates

National Collegiate Athletic Association athletes who transferred institutions more than once typically had a six-year graduation rate 10 percentage points lower than athletes who transferred once and 15 to 20 percentage points lower than those who didn’t transfer at all, according to data the NCAA shared with the Associated Press.

Players in the top-tier Division I Football Bowl Subdivision who transferred multiple times had a six-year graduation rate nearly 30 percentage points lower than those who stayed put, while those in the Championship Subdivision who repeatedly changed schools saw their graduation rate decline by 21 percentage points, the data showed.

The NCAA examined the six-year graduation rates of roughly 36,000 male and female athletes across all sports who enrolled in college in the 2018–19 academic year. Black athletes saw the steepest declines in graduation rates, from 82 percent among those who didn’t transfer to 74 percent among those who transferred once and 62 percent among those who transferred more than once.

Among women’s basketball players, the graduation rate fell from 90 percent for those who didn’t transfer to 77 percent for those who transferred multiple times, the data showed. Men’s basketball players who transferred once actually graduated at a higher rate (80 percent) than those who didn’t transfer (74 percent), though the share declined to 67 percent for serial transferrers.

The study comes at a time when college sports face heightened scrutiny and legal challenges over player eligibility rules, student athlete compensation and decimated campus budgets.

“This data should serve as a flashing red warning sign that the court-imposed transfer rules are resulting in worse academic outcomes for many student athletes,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said. “But thankfully Congress is closer than ever to passing a bill to reverse this trend.”

The Protect College Sports Act, which establishes federal guidelines on player eligibility, compensation and student transfers, among other things, passed the Senate in September and now awaits a House vote.