More shake-ups have arrived in college athletics. In 2024, the NCAA ruled in favor of paying college athletes—breaking over 100 years of precedent—after unionization pressures from groups like Dartmouth College’s basketball team. Now, the NCAA has turned its attention to junior college athletes.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association recently released new rules for JUCO student athletes with aims to give these players more flexibility and support. However, the consequences to smaller colleges may be more than you think.
What are the New Rules?
The new requirements set out by the NCAA aim to tackle longstanding problems JUCO student athletes face: lack of time, support, and unified academic standards.
The new rulings require that JUCO student athletes transferring to DI institutions meet a standardized set of academic credit requirements. Previously, there were discrepancies between varying universities.
Another new mandate requires further academic support for student athletes transitioning from a junior college to a four-year institution, in hopes to increase retention and graduation rates.
Finally, thanks to Diego Pavia of Vanderbilt University, eligibility windows are getting larger. Now, all junior college student athletes have more wiggle room to complete their two-year degree requirements without forfeiting their transfer eligibility.
While these rules give leeway to injured student athletes or those with academic setbacks, it could spell trouble for smaller colleges.
How This Could Impact Smaller Colleges
Many small colleges rely on athletic recruits to help shape their freshman class. High school senior athletes on the fence about attending a four-year college may be more likely to opt for the junior college route. Why?
The expanded eligibility window offers them the potential of more play time—and who doesn’t want more experience in a sport that could pay their way through college? However, this could create a larger pipeline of student athletes opting to begin at the JUCO level for more exposure on the field or court—potentially boosting their chances of recruitment to a larger, higher-ranked athletic program.
JUCO transfers already carry more experience than a typical high school recruit. With further opportunity for more playing time, this increases their edge over fresh-out-of-high-school student athletes, potentially altering coaches’ recruitment tactics to build the strongest team.
The increased academic support is enticing. While many student athletes across all types of institutions receive more academic support than your average non-student athlete, the new NCAA ruling guarantees further support for JUCO transfers. However smaller programs with minimal budgets may not be able to initially meet these requirements, potentially affecting their expected transfer student athlete population numbers.
Already faced with a declining college-aged population, smaller colleges will have to grapple with these new rulings and their implications as they attempt to build their class. That means hedging bets on more transfers, which can put scholarship allocation up in the air.
With all of these new rulings, could we be on the precipice of the much, much older student athlete?
Shaping Your Small College’s Class with The Parish Group
While there is little you can do about the NCAA rulings, finding a sound student search strategy to build your first-year class can help soften the blow.
The Parish Group has a long-standing history of working with smaller colleges to create a right-fit class that will persist and become faithful alumni.
Reach out at success@parishgroup.com or call us at 828.505.3000 to learn how we can help your college withstand tumultuous times in higher ed.
