The number of women college basketball players entering the transfer portal is growing.
As of May 22nd, 2021 over a thousand women basketball student-athletes have entered the transfer portal and over thirty programs have more than five players transferring from the school. The number of female student-athletes in the portal has more than doubled from last season’s total of 490. The increase in student-athletes transferring can in part be attributed to the one-time transfer exception approved by the NCAA to provide relief from the coronavirus pandemic. But there are other reasons that student-athletes are transferring.
Athlete empowerment.
Student-athletes who previously accepted a more subordinate amateur-minded role have begun advocating for their self-interests. They have developed a social media presence, transferred more frequently, and resisted overreaches in authority.
One obvious reason for player mobility is athlete and coach conflict. This usually stems from authority overreach by coaches or general disagreement between player(s) and coach(es). Oftentimes, it makes for big headlines.
University of Detroit Mercy recently concluded an investigation and affirmed their commitment to Head Women’s Basketball Coach AnnMarie Gilbert. Detroit Mercy canceled their season on January 20th, 2021 following a letter sent by fourteen of their players and parents to athletic director Robert Vowels, Jr. They claimed the team culture was “so toxic and draining that players have made comments in the locker room about having suicidal thoughts as well as purposely injuring themselves”. In addition, they claim that Coach Gilbert pressured players to change majors and class schedules that conflict with basketball practice and that players were discouraged from communicating their injuries and Covid-19 symptoms to athletic trainers.
The team currently has twelve student-athletes in the transfer portal.
In January of 2020, University of Minnesota’s leading scorer Destiny Pitts posted an open letter on Twitter stating that she had decided to enter the transfer portal after she was suspended for her “body language” following a regular-season game. The team said she was suspended for “conduct unbecoming of a member of the team.” Pitts transferred to Texas A&M where she was named SEC 6th Woman of the Year.
These examples support the idea that athlete mistreatment and/or player coach disagreement contribute to players transferring. It also demonstrates the increasing power student-athletes have.
As the sports economy continues to grow, so too does the agency that student-athletes possess. Agency that can be accessed in times of conflict and when searching for better opportunities for their athletic futures.
Athletes are products of their capitalistic environments. Coaching contracts, television revenues, and endorsement deals have all increased. In response, athletes have transitioned into a more individualistic capitalistic mindset to maximize their economic value and potential.
Amateurism, which college athletics operates under, is being eroded by the weight of American capitalism. While the NCAA’s version of amateurism does not provide student-athletes with direct financial benefits, it does provide them with benefits that have monetary value such as housing, food, books, and tuition. The transaction of these goods reveals that student-athletes are not participating in a hobby, but a transactional relationship.
The refusal of the NCAA and its universities to make direct payments to student-athletes allows them to profit from athletes’ labor and to keep the student-athletes dependent on the university and the NCAA. The willingness to play despite the pandemic showcased this relationship perfectly.
The Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences originally delayed the start of their football seasons under the guise of safety concerns. But when faced with the economic realities of game cancellations, they reversed that decision.
Amateurism and NIL
College athletics is a business and student-athlete labor lines the pockets of those that profit from it.
Some athletes will continue to the professional level. For women basketball players, that means the WNBA, overseas, or both. In most cases, female college athletes only have one, possibly two opportunities to garner enough momentum and perceived value to get drafted. So they will look for the opportunity that best enables them to reach the pros, and that includes transferring.
In the 2021 WNBA draft, three out of the first five players selected were transfers.
Aari McDonald, a March Madness star who led Arizona to the national championship game. Aari, who was selected third overall by the Atlanta Dream, transferred from Washington to Arizona to follow Coach Adia Barnes. Barnes recruited her at Washington prior to departing to become the Wildcats Head Coach in 2016. Kysre Gondrezick, selected fourth overall by the Indiana Fever, transferred from Michigan to West Virginia. Her mother said Kysre’s reason for transferring was to play in a more competitive conference. Chelsea Dungee, selected fifth overall by the Dallas Wings, transferred from Oklahoma to Arkansas after being a Big 12 All-Freshman selection at OU.
The desire for more playing time, academics and wanting to be closer to home also contribute to the decision to transfer. Student-athletes who previously would go home during summers would work summer jobs, but now universities have summer college programs which keep them on campus for most of the summer. This includes taking classes, weightlifting/training, and working summer basketball camps. This year-round commitment is more proof that being a student-athlete is a full-time job and not an amateur hobby.
The increase in students taking summer classes has shortened the graduation time for student-athletes and by graduating in three years instead of four athletes have the option of being graduate transfers, which is another attractive option. Out of the thousand-plus women in the portal, nearly one-third (325) are graduate transfers. This allows student-athletes to seek the best playing opportunity while simultaneously pursuing a graduate degree.
In the past student-athlete mobility has not negatively impacted their academics. Graduate transfers have already graduated and are now in route to pursuing an advanced degree. Previously, underclassmen would have to sit out a season, which allowed them to focus on their academics and to make up any credits that were lost in the transfer process. However, transfer portal rules are changing now that the NCAA has approved a one-time transfer exception for all sports, in what they say is an effort to “modernize its rules to prioritize student-athlete opportunity and choice.”
Much attention around recent athlete movements to reclaim agency, including the push to profit from name, image, and likeness (NIL) is dominated by male-driven sports narratives. But given the 1,000 plus female basketball student-athletes transferring this year, athlete empowerment is not limited to just male athletes.
Collective athlete movements are a sign of the eroding social construct of amateur athletics that exploits student-athlete talent for the benefit of the NCAA and its universities. In another nod toward athlete empowerment, the NCAA’s top governing body recently supported the rule change that will potentially allow student-athletes to profit from NIL, given that the university they attend does not pay them directly.
As a much-needed shift in power dynamic continues, one can only wonder what changes are coming next.
