ROBBINSVILLE – New Jersey high school sports have a new transfer rule.
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Executive Committee, after initially approving the proposal last month, finalized its decision to implement the new rule at its meeting Wednesday morning.
The new rule is three-pronged: It requires all athletes that transfer schools to sit out 30 days or half the games allowed for each sport in which they participated the previous year at the prior school; athletes who transfer on or after the first scrimmage or after the regular season start date will be barred from state tournament play, in addition to incurring the mandatory 30-day or half the season sitting out period; and all athletes who transfer more than once will be barred from state tournament play, while also incurring the mandatory 30-day or half the season sitting out period.
The rule covers all three levels of competition — varsity, junior varsity and freshman — and does not offer an appeals process.
The measure — which required two-thirds approval — passed by a vote of 25-9, with one abstention. It will go into effect on July 1, in time for the 2017-18 school year.
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“I’m very happy with the result today,” NJSIAA Executive Director Steve Timko said after the meeting. “I respect everybody’s opinion, but I’m glad that the motion carried.”
The new rule is a departure from current procedure, which allows athletes who switch schools with a “bona fide change of residence” to avoid sitting 30 days. That loophole has sparked controversies across the state; coaches and athletic officials say it’s been exploited by families who use inauthentic addresses that schools have neither the means nor expertise to verify on their own.
The “bona fide change of residence” stipulation will no longer be attached to the transfer rule.
The motion’s approval came despite opposition from Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly (D-Paterson), who also is the head football coach at Hackensack High School and attended Wednesday’s meeting.
Wimberly voiced concern that the measure could disproportionately affect urban students with unstable family situations and should not include junior varsity and freshman athletes or athletes transferring from a vocational or charter school back to their local district’s public school. He also argued that the rule should be voted on by the NJSIAA’s general body, rather than the Executive Committee.
“If the general body decides that they want to approve this rule, I will be quiet, there will be no legislation, you won’t hear another word out of me – because they had an opportunity,” Wimberly said. “But as just an executive board, to make the decision for 280,000 students and their families, I just don’t think it’s … really how a democracy should work.”
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Pennsville High School Principal Matthew McFarland also was among the dissenters. He objected to the provision requiring athletes to sit 30 days in all sports in which they’ve competed — meaning that multi-sport athletes could sit 30 days at the start of the fall, winter and spring seasons — and argued that an appeals committee was needed.
“Wouldn’t it just be a logical next step to have an appeals committee for a transfer rule?” McFarland said. “So then we can vet out those people who are trying to do it for athletic advantage. And for the people who can honestly come in and say, ‘Listen, here’s my job change. I needed (to move). I think our committee would be able to do that.”
The NJSIAA has rejected the idea of an appeals committee, arguing the volume of cases and time required to properly see to each one would be prohibitive.
“We call it a ’30-day punishment.’ It’s not a punishment,”NJSIAA project manager Mike Zapicchi said. “It’s something that would be a good time for students to get acclimated to their new school. They can participate in all other parts of team activities – the only thing they can’t do is compete.”
Matt Stypulkoski may be reached at mstypulkoski@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @M_Stypulkoski. Like NJ.com High School Sports on Facebook.
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