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By Alex Byington Sports Writer
DESTIN, Fla. — For the second straight year, intra-conference transfers is expected to be a major topic of discussion at the Southeastern Conference Spring Meetings.
It appears Alabama coach Nick Saban again will lead the opposition against any change to the SEC’s current rules inhibiting any such intra-conference “free agency.”
Along with Georgia’s tabled proposal last year which effectively allowed student-athletes that have already graduated to transfer within the SEC, conference administrators are expected to review a new proposal co-sponsored by Florida and Texas A&M that would lift all restrictions on athletes transferring within the conference if their former program faces a postseason ban of any kind, according to a report by USA Today.
While not directly addressing the newest proposal, second-year Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne made it clear that resolving any transfer issues would be of the utmost importance during the meetings.
Byrne said the issues needs a "proper balance to make sure what Coach (Saban) is saying is right, free agency wouldn’t be a good thing for college sports.”
Byrne pointed out that the national Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) has said it doesn't want to see kids transfer within their own conference.
"If you want to transfer, understand that’s going to make sense at times for some student-athletes in a variety of sports, but the student-athletes that are left there often don’t want to compete against the ones they’ve been practicing against every day," Byrne said. "And I respect that."
Alabama is currently blocking outgoing redshirt sophomore center Brandon Kennedy, who graduated in May, from transferring within the conference. According to AL.com, Kennedy would like to transfer to either Auburn or Tennessee. Another former Tide lineman, redshirt junior guard Dallas Warmack, recently announced his intention to go to Oregon as a graduate transfer.
New Volunteers head coach Jeremy Pruitt, the Tide’s defensive coordinator the past two years, indirectly expressed his support for graduate transfers being able to go where they choose by comparing his own transfer to Alabama as a student-athlete in the early 1990s.
"There was a time there that, you know, I was not disgruntled, I was happy being at Middle Tennessee, but I wanted to go play at a school that I kind of had always dreamed of playing at,” Pruitt said earlier this month. “And I was allowed to do that. They let me do it. I didn't sit out. I went and played, and didn't get to play much at that school, just a reserve player."
While also not directly addressing Kennedy’s situation, Saban bemoaned the constant back-and-forth taking place among the league’s coaches, which includes opposition from former Crimson Tide assistants Pruitt and Georgia’s Kirby Smart.
While participating in the Regions Pro-Am golf tournament, said coaches don't like to be put in the middle when it comes to the rules.
"We have rules but yet we’re not supposed to abide by the rules, and they reflect poorly on us when we try to support the rules that we have,” he said. "And the rules that we have, we have for a reason. And I just stated the reason: Do we want free agency in the SEC? ... And I do feel there are cases where that may be a viable option, if it’s for academic reasons.”
Saban found himself at odds with the SEC when former Crimson Tide defensive back Maurice Smith, a rising senior who already graduated, was granted a series of waivers from the SEC to transfer to Georgia before the 2016 season. Earlier that summer, former Tide senior receiver Chris Black successfully moved to Missouri as a grad transfer without any such limitations.
Among other topics expected to be discussed in Destin this week include:
--
Sports gambling
Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed national restrictions against state-sponsored sports gambling, a decision that has many around the NCAA wondering how it could affect collegiate sports.
As states around the country move to implement ways to make money off sports betting, including some within the SEC footprint, conference administrators are likely to at least discuss the implications at play now.
“We’re going to monitor it, and one of the critical things is making sure you protect the integrity of (the collegiate model),” Byrne said. “And there have been issues tied to gambling in the past in sports across the board, and we need to make sure (the new ruling) doesn’t increase the likelihood of that.
“The games that we watch, it’s important (gambling) doesn’t have an impact on what takes place out on the field, court and every place else.”
--
SEC prohibition
It seems the SEC’s current ban against the public sale of alcohol at its on-campus football and basketball arenas remains an annual source of contention, especially after the NCAA and other conferences recently removed such bans at championship events.
The SEC currently only allows alcohol sales in premium seating areas and suites.
“There’s been more talk about it amongst the schools, I think there’s some schools that would like some autonomy on how to handle that,” Byrne said. “(But) we’re not leading the charge on that. And if the conference decides that’s what they want to do as a whole, then we’ll look at it at that time.”
--
Serious misconduct
Three years ago, the SEC passed a rule restricting players with any sort of disciplinary record for “serious misconduct” from transferring into the conference.
Now it appears the league could expand that rule to also encompass all prospective athletes, including high school recruits, that have been convicted or faced discipline for crimes such as domestic violence, sexual assault or any other forms of “dating” violence from entering the conference.
By Alex Byington Sports Writer
SEC Spring Meetings: In-conference transfers to once again be hot topic
It appears Alabama coach Nick Saban again will lead the opposition against any change to the SEC’s current rules inhibiting any such intra-conference “free agency.”
Along with Georgia’s tabled proposal last year which effectively allowed student-athletes that have already graduated to transfer within the SEC, conference administrators are expected to review a new proposal co-sponsored by Florida and Texas A&M that would lift all restrictions on athletes transferring within the conference if their former program faces a postseason ban of any kind, according to a report by USA Today.
While not directly addressing the newest proposal, second-year Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne made it clear that resolving any transfer issues would be of the utmost importance during the meetings.
Byrne said the issues needs a "proper balance to make sure what Coach (Saban) is saying is right, free agency wouldn’t be a good thing for college sports.”
Byrne pointed out that the national Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) has said it doesn't want to see kids transfer within their own conference.
"If you want to transfer, understand that’s going to make sense at times for some student-athletes in a variety of sports, but the student-athletes that are left there often don’t want to compete against the ones they’ve been practicing against every day," Byrne said. "And I respect that."
Alabama is currently blocking outgoing redshirt sophomore center Brandon Kennedy, who graduated in May, from transferring within the conference. According to AL.com, Kennedy would like to transfer to either Auburn or Tennessee. Another former Tide lineman, redshirt junior guard Dallas Warmack, recently announced his intention to go to Oregon as a graduate transfer.
New Volunteers head coach Jeremy Pruitt, the Tide’s defensive coordinator the past two years, indirectly expressed his support for graduate transfers being able to go where they choose by comparing his own transfer to Alabama as a student-athlete in the early 1990s.
"There was a time there that, you know, I was not disgruntled, I was happy being at Middle Tennessee, but I wanted to go play at a school that I kind of had always dreamed of playing at,” Pruitt said earlier this month. “And I was allowed to do that. They let me do it. I didn't sit out. I went and played, and didn't get to play much at that school, just a reserve player."
While also not directly addressing Kennedy’s situation, Saban bemoaned the constant back-and-forth taking place among the league’s coaches, which includes opposition from former Crimson Tide assistants Pruitt and Georgia’s Kirby Smart.
While participating in the Regions Pro-Am golf tournament, said coaches don't like to be put in the middle when it comes to the rules.
"We have rules but yet we’re not supposed to abide by the rules, and they reflect poorly on us when we try to support the rules that we have,” he said. "And the rules that we have, we have for a reason. And I just stated the reason: Do we want free agency in the SEC? ... And I do feel there are cases where that may be a viable option, if it’s for academic reasons.”
Saban found himself at odds with the SEC when former Crimson Tide defensive back Maurice Smith, a rising senior who already graduated, was granted a series of waivers from the SEC to transfer to Georgia before the 2016 season. Earlier that summer, former Tide senior receiver Chris Black successfully moved to Missouri as a grad transfer without any such limitations.
Among other topics expected to be discussed in Destin this week include:
--
Sports gambling
Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed national restrictions against state-sponsored sports gambling, a decision that has many around the NCAA wondering how it could affect collegiate sports.
As states around the country move to implement ways to make money off sports betting, including some within the SEC footprint, conference administrators are likely to at least discuss the implications at play now.
“We’re going to monitor it, and one of the critical things is making sure you protect the integrity of (the collegiate model),” Byrne said. “And there have been issues tied to gambling in the past in sports across the board, and we need to make sure (the new ruling) doesn’t increase the likelihood of that.
“The games that we watch, it’s important (gambling) doesn’t have an impact on what takes place out on the field, court and every place else.”
--
SEC prohibition
It seems the SEC’s current ban against the public sale of alcohol at its on-campus football and basketball arenas remains an annual source of contention, especially after the NCAA and other conferences recently removed such bans at championship events.
The SEC currently only allows alcohol sales in premium seating areas and suites.
“There’s been more talk about it amongst the schools, I think there’s some schools that would like some autonomy on how to handle that,” Byrne said. “(But) we’re not leading the charge on that. And if the conference decides that’s what they want to do as a whole, then we’ll look at it at that time.”
--
Serious misconduct
Three years ago, the SEC passed a rule restricting players with any sort of disciplinary record for “serious misconduct” from transferring into the conference.
Now it appears the league could expand that rule to also encompass all prospective athletes, including high school recruits, that have been convicted or faced discipline for crimes such as domestic violence, sexual assault or any other forms of “dating” violence from entering the conference.
By Alex Byington Sports Writer
SEC Spring Meetings: In-conference transfers to once again be hot topic
