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Arizona high school sports is officially at a watershed moment that will determine the direction of its future.
To some, it may be surprising that one simple action such as an athlete transferring can snowball into this moment.
But this is a moment that has been building for decades and is at a ‘code-red level’ of urgency to be fixed before it’s too late.
The transfer rule set by the AIA has reached a point where it no longer serves as a deterrent from transferring
Article 15 Section 10.1 of the AIA Bylaws states that,
“A student shall be ineligible for all contests at all levels until after the first 50% of the maximum allowable Power Rankings regular season contests in those sports in which the student participated during the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the season in which the student is seeking eligibility.”
Since the adoption of this bylaw, student athletes throughout the state of Arizona have transferred from one school to another in the name of better opportunity for themselves.
Whether it be for playing time or the ability to gather scholarship offers, players have been jumping ship for decades. Most notably first gaining traction during the McClintock and St Mary’s dynasties of the 1980’s. But in the time since, the amount of players leaving programs each off-season has rapidly grown.
The five game suspension rule was used initially as a deterrent for players leaving their school for ‘greener pastures’ in order to keep a competitive balance.
Yet as time went on, the fear of missing five games for the chance to play in potentially nine made transferring less of an issue, and actually has begun to be used as an encouragement to transfer.
This was shown in late June, when then Hamilton high school defensive coordinator Tim Dougherty was caught attempting to recruit an athlete from Cesar Chavez to Hamilton.
When the athlete mentioned potentially sitting five games, Dougherty replied “We Always Plan on playing 14 games at Hamilton, so only 1/3 of the season”
It has come to a point where the thought of the punishment no longer is enough to stop recruiting and mass exodus’s of athletes.
While players transfer at high numbers, a solution to the situation is much needed. Multiple ideas have been floated in recent days as to how to police transfers as the high school level begins to mirror the college transfer portal.
Arizona Varsity’s Ralph Amsden floated the idea of a “free” transfer from big schools to lower level schools. And a postseason ban for each intra-state transfer.
ArizonaSports 98.7 radio host Kevin McCabe also floated the idea that players should be allowed to play the entire regular season but would be suspended for the postseason.
In order to properly regulate transfers there’s three things that should happen that would lower transfer numbers and encourage players to start at a specific school and stay there.
1. Allow one free transfer
This seems like a realistic and ultimately warranted request by most players and parents that are transferring currently. By allowing one free transfer, players are given the opportunity to attend whichever program they feel is best suited for what they want. Whether it’s for better academics or better athletic opportunities, adults should not punish kids attempting to get to wherever they want to. Now others may argue that they want to see kids from the neighborhood play for the neighborhood school, which is understandable. But if the coach at that school or that school as a whole cannot get that player to where they should be, the kid is not indebted to that school regardless of the opportunity that was given to them.
It’s like a job, as adults nobody faults anyone for taking a job that pays more or gives someone a better chance to get to where they want to be. And people are fine with coaches leaving for ‘better’ jobs all the time. The double standard that gets set, hurts kids and is a dangerous precedent to follow.
A player should also be able transfer for a second time. But should have to sit an entire season unless it’s a transfer back to the school they started at. This allows them the ability to test the waters and see if a different environment is right for them while giving them the ability to go back to where they originally were if it isn’t what they want.
2. Create a 7A conference.
If the AIA creates a 7A conference, it would be similar to the ‘super division’ that the AIA had in the 2015 season. By creating the 7A conference, it would eliminate the need for the open division format and create balanced conferences. 17 schools, would be taken from the three major conferences to form 7A.
This will create the ultimate competitive conference and allow for players entering high school to choose to play against the best competition immediately instead of waiting for junior year or senior year and lose important games as seen under the current transfer rules.
3. An automatic postseason ban for recruiting.
An underlying cause for transferring is the recruiting of athletes during the 7-on-7 season as well off-season workouts. However, those events are not AIA events or school events which in turn makes it hard to stop recruiting from happening indirectly at those events.
But as a way to deter any possible recruitment from happening whether at one of those events or over social media, if any assistant coach or head coach is caught attempting to recruit a player from one program to another, the punishment is an automatic one year postseason ban for the program. There also should not be the possibility to appeal the decision, this makes the punishment non negotiable and forces each program to face the music if they break the rules.
Head coaches are responsible for the decisions their assistants make while representing the program and those same coaches hold their players' futures in their hands. If they willingly want to break rules in search of a ring they must sit and face the consequences of their own actions. They should have to look at those same kids that they tried to replace with talent in their eyes and tell them that they lost their postseason because they wanted to cheat the system.
The transfer system is completely broken and is in desperate need for an overhaul. Do these three things completely fix a system that’s needed changes longer than some programs have been around? No, but they put the power in the hands of each individual player and allow them to make a decision that for a long time was steered by wrong people with the wrong intentions.
These rules would create a competitive balance in each conference which in turn benefits the talent at each school in every conference as there’s less of a gap between ‘the haves and have nots’. This also allows for much more clarity on each program as an athlete goes from middle school to high school and helps guide each athlete to a program best suited for them whether it be in their neighborhood or not.
The goal should always be what is best for the kids. Punishing kids and taking five games away does nothing but cause animosity and creates division. By placing this decision back into the hands of kids and parents, football and families benefit.
