NCAA removes cap on official recruiting visits in basketball to deal with unlimited transfers

The NCAA has approved a waiver that will allow men’s and women’s basketball programs to pay for unlimited official recruiting visits to help teams deal with roster depletion caused by transfers, according to a memo obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.

The Athletic first reported the approval of a blanket waiver by the men’s and women’s basketball oversight committees.

Currently, men’s basketball programs are allowed 28 official visits over a rolling two-year period. The number for women’s programs is 24.

The waiver will cover a two-year period, starting Aug. 1, 2023, and run through July 31, 2025. The NCAA Division I Council in June will consider proposed legislation that would lift the limit on official visits in men’s and women’s basketball permanently.

Last month, the NCAA changed its rules to allow all athletes to be immediately eligible to play no matter how many times they transfer — as long as they meet academic requirements. The move came after the association fast-tracked legislation to fall in line with a recent court order.

Several states, including West Virginia, sued the NCAA late last year, challenging rules requiring undergraduate athletes to sit out for a season if they transferred more than once.

With what amounts to unlimited and unrestricted transfers, player movement in basketball has increased and forced programs into a bind created by unusually high levels of roster turnover.

In some cases, coaches are replacing almost an entire team. The scholarship limit in Division I for men’s basketball is 13 and 15 for women’s teams.

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