Lehi Sports
UHSAA rule changes aim to tighten transfer procedures
In an effort to simplify and strengthen the standards for transfers between schools by prep athletes, the Utah High School Activities Association has implemented some sweeping changes effective at the start of the current academic year.
“The new transfer rules represent a significant attempt by the UHSAA to curb and correct issues that have hurt the integrity of high school sports,” said Quincy Lewis, athletic director at Lehi High School and a National High School Hall of Fame coach with 16 years of experience at the high school level.
“The UHSAA looked at the loopholes that have been most utilized the last few years and closed some of those to better fitthe aims of high school athletics,” said Jon Lehman, athletic director at Skyridge High School and a former, long-time football coach.
“In my experience in the process, the UHSAA has done a really good job of meeting with students, parents, coaches and administrators to get a lot of feedback to use in building policies that take care of kids as well as protect the integrity of the games,” he added.
The UHSAA’s handbook devotes Section 9 to this issue, and itbegins by noting that the aims of education-based programs, including fostering a sense of community, are different than those of organizations “primarily designed to promote athletic development of the individual and provide a showcase for the athletic talents of those individuals.”
The most significant provisions of the new rules are as follows, as taken directly from the UHSAA Handbook:
A student changing eligibility from one school (sending school) to another school (receiving school) shall be considered a transferring student. For information and record keeping purposes, the sending and receiving schools shall cooperate with each other and the Association.
The Transfer Rule applies to all athletes and is applicable to all UHSAA sanctioned sports in which the
student competed during the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the season. Competition is defined as a student competing in a contest at any level as is specified by the UHSAA calendar.
A student shall be ineligible for contests at the varsity level until after the first 50% of the maximum
allowable varsity contests in those sports in which the student competed at any level during the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the season in which the student is seeking eligibility. See Interps &
Guidelines 2.2.2 D and E. [Students who transfer after the Competition Start Date will be subject to 30
calendar days of ineligibility (or 50% of the Maximum Number of Contests) in that sport, whichever is more. The UHSAA Sport Season Rule, Article 1, Section 3, will apply to a student who has tried out and/or competed in the same sport in the same sport season.]
Transferring students may compete at the varsity level, without penalty, in those sports in which the student HAS NOT competed during the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the season in which the student is seeking eligibility. In addition, a student may compete at the sub-varsity level in any sport at the new school for a period of twelve (12) months from the last day of attendance at the former school PROVIDED the student meets all other UHSAA and school/district eligibility requirements. Once a student has enrolled and attended at the new school, that student is no longer eligible at the former school.
In a case of any subsequent transfer by the student, the student is ineligible for ALL varsity level competition for one (1) year from the date of first attendance at the receiving school.
In summary, students who choose to transfer for athletic reasons will be required to sit out at least varsity competition for the specified periods of time for sports in which they have already participated at another institution.
There are still exceptions to these rules available for school closures, drop of UHSAA membership, relocations due to death or divorce, a “bona fide” change of residence by the student and his or her family and a transfer to avoid bullying.
However, the UHSAA is now requiring schools to investigate and certify that these exceptions meet the new guidelines before the transfer requests are submitted, a significant change to the past procedure.
“The new rules are a bit harder for us to manage and present a challenge for us in my opinion, but it’s still a better overall system than what we had before and schools need to adjust,” Lehman said.
“It puts the burden of sorting through the policies and issues more on our shoulders, but that’s not a bad thing,” he added. “That’s probably more where that responsibility should lie since local administrators are more likely to be aware of all the circumstances surrounding transfer requests.”
In addition, there were substantial modifications to the rules for foreign students. The preface to this portion of Section 9 reads as follows:
The UHSAA recognizes the concerns of its member schools related to displacement of Utah students by students from foreign countries as well as recruiting of foreign players to be placed with Utah high schools. These rules are intended to preserve interscholastic competitive opportunities for Utah students and promote the unique competition fostered by the UHSAA.
The specifics of all of these changes can be accessed at https://uhsaa.org/Publications/Handbook/Handbook.pdf.
“In terms of my experience so far, the new rules are so new and are just being implemented so the effects and impacts on students remain to be seen,” Lehman said. “We’ll observe and react as we go.
“That being said, we appreciate all the work the UHSAA did during the process to educate schools in how to implement this stuff so that there’s equity and fairness in the process,” he said. “They’ve done a great job in leading in this area.”
Lewis agreed. “From an AD and administrative standpoint, there will be a learning curve as we get to understand the process well,” he said. “We appreciate the effort the UHSAA has put forth in working to improve high school athletics.
“Any students interested in transferring will need to understand the new process,” Lewis added. “Athletic directors are a great resource for them moving forward on this matter.”
