If you are currently enrolled at another college, university or institution, regardless of level or affiliation, and are interested in transferring to Houghton, please read through this page for rules and procedures necessary to begin the transfer process.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

An athletics staff member or other representative of a college's athletic interest shall not make contact in any manner (e.g., in person, telephone calls, electronic communication, written correspondence) with the athlete of another NCAA or NAIA four-year collegiate institution, directly or indirectly, without first obtaining written permission to do so, regardless of who makes the initial contact.

An institution must grant or deny a athlete's request for permission to contact within seven business days of the initial request. If the permission is not granted, the second institution shall not encourage the transfer. If the initial institution does not respond within seven business days, permission will be granted by default.

Written permission may be granted by:

• The first institution's athletics director; or
• The athlete if he/she attends a Division III institution by using the Self-Release Form (Download the Division III Self-Release form)

For more details on NCAA transfer rules, read the NCAA Transfer Guide for two-year college transfers or the NCAA Transfer Guide for four-year college transfers.

Learn more about Houghton's admission requirements for transfer.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

I'm currently competing/attending an NCAA Division I, II, NAIA or two-year college, why should I consider NCAA Division III?
Learn why NCAA Division III offers the purest form of being a college student-athlete.

Learn more about NCAA Division III rules for eligibility by downloading this useful document.

I'm currently at a different college, and want to learn more about Houghton and possibly transfer. What do I do?
Student-athletes wishing to attend Houghton via a transfer from another institution can do so by adhering to NCAA guidelines. If you are seeking a transfer from an NCAA Division I, II or NAIA institution, you should contact your head coach or your Director of Athletics. If you seek a transfer via the Director of Athletics, you should understand that your head coach will be informed of your intentions, should you ultimately decide to contact Houghton about a possible transfer. Your athletics department will submit a written response that will allow Houghton to contact you.

However, if you are attending another NCAA Division III institution, you do not need authorization via your athletic department for permission to contact. The NCAA has issued a "Self-Release Transfer Form" specifically for Division III athletes, which will allow release to other NCAA Division III institutions. Normally, Houghton would contact your institution in order to inquire about your eligibility status.

Impermissible contact between a student-athlete and an institution that has not been granted permission to contact can lead to eligibility implications for the student-athlete. Therefore it is advised that student-athletes make every effort to comply with these standards.

Our head coaches are advised NOT to communicate with ANY current students at another institution without first receiving a "Self-Release" (if the student is currently at a NCAA Division III institution) or a release through the compliance office (prepared for the head coach by the Athletic Director). So, it is certainly in your best interest to contact your compliance office first. If that is not possible, then contact Houghton's Compliance Office at (585) 567-9276, and we will be happy to help you through the process.

I've gotten my transfer clearance out of the way, now how do I know if I can play at Houghton?
Eligibility for transfer student-athletes follows guidelines set forth by the NCAA governing Division III transfers. Student-Athletes must "sit-out" (spend one full-time academic year in residence) unless they meet one of the following criteria:

• The student has never participated in collegiate athletics in ANY sport, at any other division level, and still has semesters of eligibility remaining.

• The student would have been academically eligible to participate has he/she remained at the institution which they are transferring from, and still has semesters of eligibility remaining (if transferring from a two-year institution, he/she would have been eligible to compete if they had had semesters of eligibility remaining).

Of course, as in all cases, the student must be registered in a full-time course of study, and must be academically eligible to play at Houghton, once this criterion is met. If a transferring student does NOT fall into one of these two broad categories, they will NOT be eligible to participate.