Lawmakers looking to change athlete transfer law in West Virginia

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - West Virginia is coming up on three years under a law allowing student athletes to transfer high schools without losing eligibility.

Critics say it’s hurt schools and communities.

“Once a school gets into a situation where athletes are transferring out, it’s a death spiral,” Del. Dana Ferrell (R-Kanawha) said. “In scholastic sports, that was all about being part of your community, working with teammates through the good and the bad. Nowadays it seems like if parents or athletes get into a tiff with the coach or don’t like the position they’re assigned to, they’ll shop themselves somewhere else.”

The last couple years, Ferrell says efforts at the Capitol to change the law didn’t get out of committee, but he’s more confident the law will be changed this legislative session.

“We have a lot more evidence and data about what’s going on,” he said.

Proposed changes would allow students to transfer their freshman and sophomore years but restrict older athletes.

“This prevents the stacking of so-called all-star teams,” Ferrell said.

He also says the proposed bill would let athletes return to their original school before their senior year.

“We want them to be a part of their home school and home community,” Ferrell said.

Wayne Ryan, the WVSSAC Executive Director, agrees the current law is problematic.

Ryan says they get a lot of complaints from parents whose children have played in their home community through middle school into high school, and other athletes are transferring in and taking their positions.

“It’s made some of the ‘haves’ have more and the ‘have-nots’ have less,” Ryan said. “That’s without a doubt. It’s probably put some teams and schools in a bad position, but it’s also impacted communities.”

WSAZ talked with the head coach of one high school football team who didn’t want to be identified or talk on camera who says he’d prefer the law to stay as it is.

He gave an example of a student athlete who transferred from a less successful program, had a great senior season at his new school, and then got a college football scholarship. The coach says maybe that wouldn’t have happened for that student if he’d stayed at his original school.

The unnamed coach believes even if the law changes, students will still find a way to move to other schools, but it would merely be more complicated.

The coach says this also goes the other way, and players who may be good but not good enough to start at their current school can transfer and play somewhere else as well.