The Pac-12 has instituted a new rule that will prevent transfers by athletes with a history of misconduct, the conference announced today.
The new rule requires transfer applicants to self-disclose whether or not they are allowed to re-enroll at their prior schools. If not, they would not be eligible to receive athletic aid or participate in athletic activities.
The policy will apply to issues related to “assault, harassment, academic fraud, and other violations of campus behavior conduct policies,” the conference said — not to academic ineligibility that does not stem from misconduct.
“This is an important step to strengthen our student-athlete transfer admission processes and to address the safety of our students,” UCLA chancellor Gene Block said.
Such a rule may have prevented, for example, the Oregon men’s basketball team from accepting Brandon Austin in 2014. The 6-foot-6 wing had been suspended by Providence College, where he had been a subject of a rape investigation. Austin faced sexual assault allegations again in Eugene, along with teammates Damyean Dotson and Dominic Artis; all three were eventually expelled.
