The current state of the KHSAA transfer rule

KHSAA staff finalizing a proposal to present at July meeting.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW)- A fresh look at the transfer process for high school athletes in Kentucky is happening this summer after two years of research from the Kentucky High School Athletics Association.

The governing body is preparing a proposal from its findings from conversations with stakeholders such as schools and the state legislature to potentially be presented in July to the Board of Control. If all goes well, then the plan will be sent out to schools to view at regional meetings in the months after.

“The transfer rule is the most discussed thing amongst schools except for high school basketball,” said KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett. “This is one chance for us to give it a wholesale look and then hopefully get it set for awhile. We can take it around the state at regional meetings and get it out to our schools. They need to weigh in on this.”

A vote on any changes to the current rules would be taken by representatives from member schools in September, if the plan advances that far by then.

Even though schools have yet to weigh in on the upcoming plan, Tackett says that he has seen widespread support from schools to not want to implement a one-time, no criteria and free transfer, which is reminiscent of the NCAA transfer portal.

“We can’t ignore the chaos at the college level,” said Tackett. “We’ve not had a single proposal from a member school to have an unlimited transfer. Sometimes silence is deafening.”

Right now, high school athletes can transfer schools. But, they must sit out a year of competition unless they meet the criteria for several exemptions which are outlined in Bylaw 6 of the KHSAA Rulebook.

According to Tackett, concerns of stripping the transfer rule of its current guidelines to a more college-like model would have a negative impact on fairness on the field, enrollment shifts and changes in funding allocation.

“One time transfer leads to a huge widening of the gap between those who are successful and those who are not,” he said. “Players all pile over to this one side and then the community based team that’s playing within their district may not even have enough to field a team.”