Statement on the Transfer Status of Virginia Tech Wrestlers

Due to numerous requests concerning the eligibility status of 
Virginia Tech wrestlers, the Virginia Tech Athletics Department 
issues the following statement:

"The Virginia Tech Athletics Department has chosen not to release for the 2006-07 academic year any National Letter of Intent (NLI) signee or those wrestlers receiving athletics financial aid to any 
Division-I institution.

The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) sets forth 
guidelines pertaining to transfer situations amongst its member 
institutions. The NCAA has had a transfer rule in place throughout 
its years. The NCAA transfer rules require the permission of the 
institution in order for the student-athlete to avoid eligibility 
consequences.

The rule was enacted, in large part, and remains in place to this 
day, in order to control the unfettered transfer of athletes from one 
team to another due to a coaching change. Virginia Tech will apply 
this rule for the purpose that it was intended.

The Virginia Tech Athletics Department has informed these athletes that it will provide transfer releases following the 2006-07 academic  year if a student-athlete still wishes to transfer out of Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech announces its position, aware that its decision is 
subject, per NCAA rules, to an appeal hearing conducted by a 
committee of Virginia Tech faculty and staff that reside outside of 
the athletics department."

In releasing this statement, the Virginia Tech Athletics Department 
will have no further comments until the process has run its full 
course.

Attached for your reference are the relevant NCAA transfer bylaws.

Relevant NCAA BylawsConcerning "Permission to Contact" . . .

NCAA Bylaw 13.1.1.3
"An athletics staff member or other representative of the 
institution's athletics interests shall not make contact with the 
student-athlete of another NCAA or NAIA four-year collegiate 
institution, directly or indirectly, without first obtaining the 
written permission of the first institution's athletics director (or 
an athletics administrator designated by the athletics director) to 
do so, regardless of who makes the initial contact. If permission is 
not granted, the second institution shall not encourage the transfer 
and the institution shall not provide athletically related financial 
assistance to the student-athlete until the student-athlete has 
attended the second institution for one academic year. If permission is granted to contact the student-athlete, all applicable NCAA recruiting rules apply."

NCAA Bylaw 13.1.1.3.1
"If the institution decides to deny a student-athlete's request to 
permit any other institution to contact the student-athlete about 
transferring, the institution shall inform the student-athlete in 
writing that he or she, upon request, shall be provided a hearing 
conducted by an institutional entity or committee outside of the 
athletics department (e.g., the office of student affairs; office of 
the dean of students; or a committee composed of the faculty 
athletics representative, student-athletes and nonathletics 
faculty/staff members). The institution shall have established 
reasonable procedures for promptly hearing such a request."

Concerning the One-Time Transfer Exception ("Release") . . .

NCAA Bylaw 14.5.5.1
"A transfer student from a four-year institution shall not be 
eligible for intercollegiate competition at a member institution 
until the student has fulfilled a residence requirement of one full 
academic year (two full semesters or three full quarters) at the 
certifying institution."

NCAA Bylaw 14.5.5.2.10-(d)
"If the student is transferring from a NCAA or NAIA member 
institution, the student's previous institution shall certify in 
writing that it has no objection to the student's being granted an 
exception to the transfer-residence requirement. If the student's 
previous institution denies his or her request for the release, the 
institution shall inform the student-athlete in writing that he or 
she, upon request, shall be provided a hearing conducted by an 
institutional entity or committee outside of the athletics department 
(e.g., the office of student affairs; office of the dean of students; 
or a committee composed of the faculty athletics representative, 
student-athletes and nonathletics faculty/staff members). The 
institution shall have established reasonable procedures for promptly hearing such a request."


Bylaw language taken from the 2005-06 NCAA Manual, pages 90, 177, and 179.