The premise was simple: If they had a magic wand, how would several Michigan high school football coaches change the MHSAA’s transfer rules?
Because right now, it’s not uncommon to see star players swap schools and join an already established juggernaut. And when that happens, the school they left behind can be left scrambling.
The MHSAA doesn’t allow a student-athlete to transfer to another school and play immediately ... unless they meet one of 15 exceptions.
Those exceptions include:
- A student enrolling in a newly established school on its first day.
- A student moving with the people they previously lived with into a new household.
- A student who previously lived between parents moving back to a parent they had not been living with exclusively.
- A student being placed with foster parents by the court.
- An approved international-program student moving in with a host family in the district.
- A married student moving into the school district.
- A former school ceasing to operate without simply merging with another school.
- A former school being reorganized or consolidated.
- A student moving with or to a divorced parent, or a parent whose parents were never married.
- A student being transferred because the school board orders a safety- or enrollment-related shift.
- A first-time ninth-grader, except J-1 or F-1 visa students.
- A student completing the highest grade offered at the former school.
- An 18-year-old moving without their parents.
- A student residing at a boarding school, which requires an Educational Transfer Form.
- An expelled student returning under previously established eligibility criteria.
It’s also worth noting that the MHSAA is introducing a new sport-specific transfer rule this coming school year. Under the new rule, a student-athlete’s eligibility after transferring is based on whether the student played that sport the previous year. Without an exception,
a transferred athlete is ineligible for that same sport but remains eligible in sports they did not play.
The Free Press reached out to multiple coaches about how the transfer rule impacts their programs, especially when it comes to losing or gaining players.
All coaches were granted anonymity so they could speak freely and candidly. And, well, a few had plenty to say.
In our second "Coaches Confidential," here are the best responses we received about fixing Michigan’s transfer rules:
Allow everyone to transfer once without penalty
“I believe high school students should be able to have a one-time transfer. Any transfer after that would just follow our current rules.
“You see all the time in the MHSAA meeting minutes, kids getting denied transfer requests even though they are doing it for mental health reasons, because they are being bullied or because a kid wants to move in with the other parent.
“If we truly care about the mental wellbeing of the students, why would we take athletics away from them when what they need is a fresh start somewhere else?”
Affected schools need to do more of the heavy lifting
“Right now, the only way we can effectively stop transfers is if the MHSAA enforces the rules. The problem is that the MHSAA simply does not have the manpower or time to effectively investigate and pursue a large number of transfer cases.
“I also believe the school that a student is leaving has to be willing to put up a bigger fight. Schools need to report questionable transfers to the MHSAA, but they should also contact the school the student is transferring to and explain why the transfer may violate the rules.
“Whether the issue is that the family has not made a bona fide complete move, the transfer is being made for athletic purposes or there is potential undue influence involved, the school losing the student needs to make the other school aware of the concern and formally challenge the transfer.
“Unfortunately, too many schools simply sit back and do nothing, allowing the transfer to happen without putting up a fight. If more schools challenged questionable transfers and reported them to the MHSAA, the MHSAA would be forced to investigate more cases. That could help limit the number of students who attempt to transfer in violation of the rules.
“I understand why schools become frustrated. Many feel the MHSAA will not do anything about their complaints, so they ask themselves, ‘Why should we even bother fighting it?’ But if schools stop challenging these transfers, the system becomes even more difficult to enforce.
“The MHSAA is making an effort with the online transfer tracker form, which I think is a step in the right direction. If schools do not use the tools available to report and document these transfers, it makes it even more difficult for the MHSAA to enforce its own rules.
“Ultimately, I think enforcement has to be a shared responsibility. The MHSAA needs to investigate and enforce the rules, but schools also need to be proactive in reporting questionable transfers and challenging them when they believe the rules have been violated.”
Install a model other states are having success with
“You want to fix this? Level the playing field. Every athlete gets a one-time, risk-free transfer, and it has to be before your senior season.
“Indiana went to this, and it appears to be working.
“There are no exceptions. You get one transfer.
“The ball is being dropped here with consistency. It appears certain schools are getting a large number of transfers while others are being scrutinized for it.”
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports for the Detroit Free Press. Follow him on X at @folsomwrites.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Coaches Confidential: MHSAA transfer rule needs fixing
