Northwestern's Collins: Mid-majors don't let players graduate due to transfer rule
The topic of graduate transfers is a sore subject for many college coaches, and you can count Northwestern's Chris Collins among that crowd.
With graduate transfers eligible immediately without having to sit out a year, those players are essentially free agents, and Collins recently accused mid-major programs of preventing their players from graduating to take away the transfer option.
"(Former Drexel coach) Bruiser Flint lost his job because the best player in his league (Damion Lee), a week before school started, went to Louisville," Collins told InsideNU's "Pound the Talk" podcast on Wednesday. "He lost his job. So you know what's happening now at all mid-major programs? They don't let their kids go to summer school. They don't let them get ahead. They won't let them graduate. Is that what upper-level education is all about? Aren't we still academic institutions?"
While the situation clearly frustrates Collins, he understands why some coaches would want to keep their players in the program for the extra year.
"If you're coaching at Drexel, and you got the best player in the league, are you going to let him graduate?" Collins asked. "With the fear that (he could play for) Duke, Carolina, or Kentucky? Or are you going to hold him back academically so he doesn't leave you? Honestly. Answer me honestly."
The Wildcats have never made the NCAA tournament, but after finishing 20-12 in Collins' third year with the program, that could change in 2016-17.