Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin says players whose conferences have decided to suspend bankruptcy sports should transfer freely without penalty.
During a performance on the SEC Network on Tuesday, Kiffin said it was a “shame” that players could not do this.
“Kids have their schools when their conferences decide to close so they can’t play, and a lot of them have a lot of money on the line with the next level, or they just want to play their final year,” Kiffin said. “It’s very unfortunate that the NCAAs do not allow them to be transferred and eligible immediately. We’re told that it’s not even going into an exemption process, so I feel really bad for those children. It’s not their fault. “Why can’t they come and play somewhere? That does not make sense to me.”
On August 11, the Big Ten and Pac-12 announced that they would not play football in the fall due to the coronavirus pandemic and instead intended to play in the spring.
The SEC, ACC and Big 12 have all announced plans to begin their seasons on Sept. 26. The SEC has plans to play a 10-game, conference-only schedule.
On Tuesday, Alabama coach Nick Saban said spring football will not appeal to pro prospects.
“I think one of the real consequences of this is, if you’re a junior or a senior and you have an NFL class, are you going to play in the spring?” Sei Saban. “Or will that be kind of a JV season with a lot of these juniors and seniors turning away?”
Kiffin said he asked the SEC about players transferring from conferences that do not play in the fall and was told there would be no special waiver, and the only players who can transfer without sitting are graduate transfers.
Kiffin, who was Saban’s offensive coordinator from 2014 to 2016 in Alabama, said players are excited to return to practice and prepare for the season. Ole Miss is scheduled to open the season at home against Florida on Sept. 16.
However, Kiffin said the biggest challenge facing his team is to combat COVID-19.
“The big challenge is not when they are with us,” he said. “The big challenge is when they are away from us and deal with this, and [they’re] do a good job because the university environment does not do a very good job of it and the environment in general. “
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