Member schools must still approve eligibility bylaw changes that would allow immediate varsity eligibility after a student’s first transfer.

Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News

New Mexico high school athletes could soon be allowed to transfer schools once without losing varsity eligibility under a proposed bylaw change approved by the New Mexico Activities Association Board of Directors on Thursday.

The proposal would give a student immediate varsity eligibility at a new school after a first transfer during the student’s high school career, subject to several exceptions and existing rules barring recruiting and undue influence.

The change is not yet in effect. It must be approved through a referendum vote of NMAA member high schools before becoming part of the association’s eligibility bylaws.

The NMAA said about 160 member high schools will be eligible to vote in the coming weeks. The association expects to compile results around June 20-25, and the proposal will pass only if a majority of schools voting support it.

How the rule would change eligibility

Under current NMAA eligibility bylaws, an incoming ninth-grade student — or an eighth-grade student who participates at the high school level — receives a one-time open enrollment choice and can be immediately eligible at the selected school if other requirements are met.

After that initial choice, a student who transfers schools is generally classified as a transfer student. Under the current rule, a transfer student who leaves the previous school in good standing may compete immediately at the sub-varsity level but generally may not participate at the varsity level for 365 calendar days. Senior transfer students may not compete at the sub-varsity level.

Under the proposed rule, students would instead receive one transfer during their high school career with immediate varsity eligibility at the new school.

A second or later transfer would generally result in 365 days of varsity ineligibility unless the student qualifies for an existing exception, such as a bona fide residence change, a first move from one parent to another, placement in state custody or not having participated in a particular sport at the previous school.

Recruiting rules would remain in effect

The proposed free-transfer rule would not permit coaches, parent groups or others associated with a school to recruit athletes to change programs.

The NMAA said that if a coach is found to have recruited a student, the school could face a fine of up to $5,000 and the student could be declared ineligible for all sports at all levels for one calendar year.

Current NMAA bylaws also prohibit students from transferring to follow a coach and prohibit schools or their athletic interests from offering impermissible benefits to influence a student’s enrollment.

Some students would remain outside the free-transfer rule

The NMAA said existing statutes affecting home-school and charter school students would continue to apply under the proposal.

The free-transfer provision also would not apply to certain foreign students entering schools without their parents or legal guardians, or to students transferring into an NMAA member school after attending a specialized sports training academy or program.

The current handbook defines specialized sports training programs to include non-school-sponsored sports academies or facilities that recruit participants for specialized training, non-NFHS member prep schools, nonscholastic teams or programs and municipal sports teams.

Students transferring from those programs are currently ineligible for varsity competition in the applicable sport or sports for 365 calendar days from the date of enrollment.

The proposed eligibility bylaw changes will become effective only if approved by a majority of NMAA member schools that vote in the referendum.

Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.